Collaborative vs. Litigated Divorce Cost

Financial And Emotional

Divorce can be costly in so many ways. Some of the financial and emotional damages of a Divorce may be minimized by the approach chosen by the parties, as well as the philosophy of the Attorneys involved.

If the parties are introduced to the Collaborative Law Divorce process, and if they can commit to the principles of Collaborative Law Divorce, the parties should be able to greatly reduce the financial burden of a Divorce when compared to the same key facts of in a Litigated Divorce process.

Even though each party must have an Attorney represent them in a Collaborative Law Divorce, there are generally only five to eight group meetings to complete a case. These group meetings involve the parties and any neutral professionals involved. The group meetings can be costly so, it is wise to be proactive in completing all homework assignments well in advance of the group meetings and becoming prepared for each group meeting. Even with careful preparation it is critical that each party be counseled on and understand their own needs, as well as those needs of the other party. The financial and emotional aspect of a Collaborative Divorce can be very costly when one of the parties, or both, stands on a principle of a specific need, desire or outcome with no desire to negotiate.

The financial costs are further reduced in a Collaborative Law Divorce process when a professional financial neutral gathers and organizes all the parties’ assets and debts, eliminating the need for each of their Attorney’s to gather, assimilate, and create their own distribution spreadsheets. The prohibition of formal discovery is another huge expense savings in a Collaborative Law Divorce. This is only possible when each party has the ability to trust the other. In turn, the financial cost saving attributes of Collaborative Divorce allows for a lower emotional toll on the parties and their children.

Divorce carries with it an emotional burden. Handled properly with a coach to support both parties in learning enhanced communication skills, understanding of the other party’s needs, following the Collaborative Divorce Law of Rules of Good Faith, plus having an open mind for a reasonable settlement, the parties can greatly lower the emotional toll for everyone involved during and after the Divorce process. Divorce can be extremely expensive financially and emotionally. Through the Collaborative Law Divorce process that cost can be significantly reduced.