How Can I Prepare for my Collaborative Divorce?

If you and your spouse can work amicably together to discuss the terms of your divorce settlement, you could be candidates for a collaborative divorce. In a collaborative divorce, the couple and their individual lawyers work together to create a divorce settlement without involving the court. Generally, this makes the divorce process easier, less expensive, and less time-consuming for all parties involved.
Before your first meeting with a collaborative divorce lawyer, work with your spouse to prepare for the process. Below are a few ways you can prepare yourselves for your collaborative divorce to make the process as simple and straightforward as possible.

Identify your Goals
You might not have thought much about your goals for the divorce other than wanting to end your marriage. Take time to reflect on what you want from the divorce, such as a specific share of your marital assets. By identifying your goals before you start negotiations, you will be better equipped to advocate for them.

Discuss your Goals with your Spouse
Communicate with your spouse about your goals for the divorce. You might feel strongly about remaining in your marital home and he or she might feel strongly about retaining other assets. Identify the issues each feels most strongly about and where you are willing to compromise to allow both parties to reach their goals.

Have All your Updated Documents Ready
These documents include the title to your home, statements for bank and investment accounts, documentation of your current assets and income, and an itemized list of all your debts. You will need these documents to fairly divide your assets in your divorce.

Understand the Collaborative Divorce Process
Although you and your spouse will work together in your collaborative divorce, you will need to each retain your own lawyer. This is because despite working toward similar goals, you each have unique needs and you both have rights as individuals.
Your lawyer’s role is to be your advocate through this process and ensure that your rights are not violated. He or she can also help you understand the legal jargon you encounter during the divorce process and explain the pros and cons of potential choices you and your spouse make about your divorce settlement. Your lawyer may also draw upon his or her professional network to bring in outside parties to aid in your divorce, such as a real estate appraiser to value your home in order to divide its value equitably.
Working with a lawyer can also ensure that your paperwork is properly notarized and filed with the court.

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Divorce Lawyer
A collaborative divorce can be a liberating experience for a divorcing couple. If you and your spouse determine that collaboration is the way to go with your divorce, contact an experienced Winter Park collaborative divorce lawyer to move forward with the process. Contact The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., P.L.C. today to schedule your initial consultation with our firm.
Resource:
money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2013/08/19/why-a-collaborative-divorce-makes-financial-sense

By Aubrey Harry Ducker Jr. | Posted on April 26, 2017

Dividing your Home in your Divorce

In most divorce cases, the couple’s home is their largest asset. Dividing a home in a divorce can be a contentious process, not only because of the monetary value of the home but because of the emotional value it has to the couple and their children. There are a few different strategies divorcing couples use to divide their homes. The right strategy for you and your spouse depends on your current circumstances and future goals. Talk with your lawyer about the strategies discussed below to determine which is best for your case.
Sell the House and Split the Profits
For many divorcing couples, selling the marital home and splitting the profit from the sale is the most efficient way to divide the home. This often requires the couple to work with a real estate appraiser, who determines the market value of the home so they can better factor it into their property division settlement. In many cases, the couple splits the profit from the sale evenly. However, this is not a requirement.
One Spouse Buys Out the Other’s Interest in the Home
If one spouse wants to stay in the home and can afford to pay the remainder of its mortgage, he or she may opt to “buy out” the other party’s interest in the home. In this scenario, a real estate appraiser may need to determine the home’s market value, which is then used alongside the couple’s equity in the home to determine each party’s interest in the home. As with cases where the couple sells their home, the court may determine that the parties are not entitled to equal shares of the home’s value and work a fair breakdown of this value into the couple’s property division settlement. In a case like this, the spouse who keeps the home must refinance the home’s mortgage in his or her own name.
Combining these Strategies and Considering Others
You might also consider having one partner remain in the home until your children are grown, then selling it and sharing the profits. This could involve working out a deal that allows the partner who leaves the home to take certain other assets to make up for the other’s benefit of keeping the house for a longer period of time.
Some couples choose another way to divide their home after their divorce: retaining ownership of it and alternating weeks in the house with the children. This is known as birdnesting. For some couples, this is a way to save money.
Work with an Experienced Winter Park Divorce Lawyer
Choosing the right divorce lawyer to handle your case is one of the most important choices you will make during the divorce process. To set up your initial consultation with experienced Winter Park divorce lawyer Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., contact The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., P.L.C. today. During your consultation, you can discuss your goals for your divorce and develop strategies to promote them while protecting your rights.
Resources:
psychologytoday.com/blog/co-parenting-after-divorce/201307/birds-nest-co-parenting-arrangements
bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/breaking-mortgage-divorce-1.aspx