When a couple chooses the Collaborative Divorce process, they can expect to have a supported divorce experience. In Collaborative Divorce, the divorce professionals work to keep the divorce contained and ensure the clients feel supported on all issues. Each of the Collaborative Divorce professionals (attorneys, divorce coaches, neutral financial specialists, and neutral child specialists) play an important role to help the couple make informed decisions about their divorce.
The Roles of the Divorce Professionals in a Collaborative Divorce
· The role of the attorneys in the case is to provide legal education, analyze legal issues, and to draft legal documents.
· The mental health professionals or divorce coaches provide support around emotional issues, assist in developing co-parenting skills, aid with communication issues, and support the transition of the family into a new family structure.
· The neutral financial specialists serve an important role in educating the clients on their financial estate, helping to evaluate financial options, aiding in the division of assets and debts, and assist in evaluating child support and spousal support.
· The neutral child specialists bring the voice of the child(ren) into the decision-making process by sharing the child(ren)’s concerns, insight into the child(ren)’s developmental stages and assist in creating the Parenting Plan.
When the whole team is put together, it is a holistic approach to address all the issues that impact a family going through divorce. It is a supported process where each Collaborative Divorce professional helps the family through a difficult time by providing their expertise in their specific area.
Collaborative Divorce is better for families with children.
The Collaborative Divorce process is designed to help parents make wise decisions about their family. In Collaborative Divorce, parents are not handing the decision-making power over to a stranger in a black robe. The Collaborative Divorce professions help educate, support, inform, and empower the parents to make their own decisions about their family. This is done in a thoughtful manner utilizing a child specialist. The child specialist shares insights from the child(ren) that help influence the parents’ decision making. The child specialist also provides education and expertise about what works for children of divorce and what is appropriate for the developmental ages of children. This is done in a cooperative and transparent manner aimed at creating a thoughtful Parenting Plan that will work for all family members.
Life After Divorce
One of the goals in a Collaborative Divorce is to set the family up for success after the divorce is over. The Collaborative Divorce professionals help the family transition into a new family structure. In many cases, parents continuing to have a friendly relationship with each other, sharing holidays, birthdays, or special events, long after the divorce is over.