When people want a divorce there are several questions they must consider, the How's, When's Where's, Who's, Why's and What's.
How to tell the spouse? How to tell the children? How to tell the rest of the family? How to go about filing a divorce?
When should I tell my Spouse, children, family, and friends? When should I move out or insist my spouse move out? When should I find a job? When should I consult an attorney?
Where should I live? Where should my children live? Where should we file the divorce?
Who should get an attorney? Who should represent me? Who should know what?
Why do I want a divorce? Why should I stay? Why should I care about all these questions??????
Finally, the What's!
What is the law applied to my case? What do I do if . . .? What will my spouse do? What will everyone think? What will happen to all our savings? What will happen to the china cabinet mom gave me and all its contents we have accumulated? What do I do with my wedding ring?
You want Answers? The Court wants answers. The Courts want answers to Alimony and Child Support. Who will pay and How Much? The Courts want to know who is going to pay attorney's fees. Courts will decide who gets the High Assets or valuable Personal Property. The Court can decide what to do with the Marital Home. There is an easier way!
That is a long list of questions with very few easy answers! Some of the questions I would ask are:
How much time do you want to devote to court proceedings?
When do you want all this to be completed?
Where do you want to end up after all is finalized by the court?
Who will win/lose or decide?
Why does anyone have to let the Judge Decide?
What do you want to happen with your children? Of course my questions are directly related to a Collaborative Divorce, in which the Husband and Wife make all the decisions about the Property, Assets, Timing, and living situations, and the Mother and Father make all the decisions about the children. Some people think this is a Radical idea. Others believe that two people who could not get along well enough to remain married Cannot Possibly Get Along well enough to decide what is best for their family. I Disagree. From years of practice, we in the Collaborative Practice community have witnessed the most intractable situations turn out with everyone in agreement to a reasonable outcome.
Attorneys who are not committed to the collaborative practice and merely offer it alongside their mainly Litigation Practice, do no favors to their clients. Litigated cases are almost always significantly more expensive than Collaborative Cases. Further, Collaborative cases allow you to decide the timeframes for completion. You are not forced to work at the court's convenience, rather, your time schedule is of paramount importance.
Finally, you get to make the decisions affecting your family. By negotiated agreement you and your spouse will decide all issues. That is a radical idea. Call me at 407-645-3297 or visit my website at www.aubreylaw.com or visit the Collaborative Family Law of Central Florida website at www.cfl-cfl..org
Investigate the questions. Get answers to your questions. You have the Power!
