Divorce can obviously be a very painful transition in anyone’s life — not only from an emotional and family perspective but also logistically, legally and fiscally. It is not unusual for some contentious divorces to take three to five years to complete, mentally and financially draining the estranged spouses, and dragging out the process when what they most desire is to get on with their lives.
Fortunately, a new area of practice has emerged that aims to make divorce more amicable, quicker and less costly. Collaborative Law combines the skills of trained attorneys, financial and mental health professionals who come together with the stated goal of rendering the legal separation — including property settlement, child custody and support needs — as painless as possible.
In some cases, divorces governed by collaborative law are completed with just a handful of meetings after only a few months.
In collaborative law, both parties enter an agreement stating that they do not want to go to court. The spouses declare their desire to maintain mutual respect for one another. Obviously, there must be a high level of trust between the separating spouses — including truth about the marital assets — in order for this process to work.
Each spouse retains their own attorney trained in collaborative law, and financial and mental health professionals are selected from an agreed-upon list of qualified individuals. If the collaborative law engagement fails, it is stipulated in the contract that the couple has to start the legal process over with a completely new set of professionals, in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
From an accounting perspective, our role in a collaborative law divorce includes tasks like valuing business interests, preparing the marital balance sheet, determining the potential incomes of the parents and calculating child support payments. (The attorneys are there to advocate on behalf of their respective clients’ needs and desires, and mental health professionals help them traverse the mental and emotionally minefield involved with children, mothers and fathers.)
The benefits for the separating couple are obvious — a less contentious divorce that generally costs far less and happens much quicker than a judicial proceeding. And they get to be directly involved in every step of the process, splitting the marital assets and any support payments by mutual agreement rather than having a judge make that determination for them.
Aside from the reduced costs and time involved, getting to make your own decisions is perhaps the most attractive feature for couples going through this very difficult task. A court divorce can leave both people feeling stripped and laid bare, while a collaborative law process allows them to feel safe, dignified and respected by their former spouses. It is important for the children to observe their divorced parents demonstrating mutual respect and civility for the long-term emotional welfare of those children.
If you are interested in consulting about a collaborative law engagement, please contact Tom Sponsel at (317) 608-6691 or [email protected].