Who Else Benefits from a Collaborative Divorce?

Many couples choose collaborative divorce because of its benefits, like its low cost compared to litigation, the non-combative nature of the process, and the greater likelihood that they will reach a mutually satisfying settlement through collaboration. The benefits of collaborative divorce do not stop here. Many other people in a divorcing couple’s lives, particularly their children, can reap significant benefits from the couple’s choice to do a collaborative divorce.

If you are considering collaborative divorce, think about how your choice will impact the other people in your life now and those who might enter it in the future. Of course, the decision to divorce through collaboration should be made according to whether it is the right choice for you and your spouse – if it is the right choice, its benefits will ripple to your other relationships.

The most important aspect of a collaborative divorce is the actual act of working together with a spouse to create a divorce settlement that benefits both parties. Collaborative problem solving is a skill that a divorced individual can continue to use in interactions with the former spouse and new partners in the years that follow his or her divorce.

Your Children

After you and your spouse, your children are the ones who can benefit the most from your collaborative divorce. This is because through the collaborative process, you are the ones to determine your parenting plan, rather than the court. You know your children and their needs best and if you and your spouse are willing to work together, can develop an ideal parenting plan that promotes productive co-parenting.

Your Families and Mutual Friends

When a couple divorces, it is natural for their families and friends to feel they have to “take sides.” This can be very difficult for individuals who are equally good friends with both halves of a couple and even family members who have grown attached to their in-laws. Choosing collaboration generally makes it possible for the divorcing couple to remain on good terms, which can make the divorce easier for their friends and loved ones.

Your Future Partners

You or your spouse might date again. You might even marry again and have more children with a new partner. Having a poor relationship with a former spouse can hurt new relationships, especially when there are children involved. Effectively communicating and co-parenting with a former partner can make it easier for a new partner to enter your life and your children’s lives. It can also make maintaining this new relationship easier by eliminating the chance for conflict with a former partner on issues related to your children.

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Collaborative Divorce Lawyer

Before you commit to a collaborative divorce, speak with an experienced Winter Park divorce lawyer about the specifics of your case. Your lawyer could find that collaboration is right for you or he or she could steer you in a direction better suited for your case. Contact The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., P.L.C. today to set up your flat-rate consultation in our office.

https://www.flcourts.org/core/fileparse.php/533/urlt/995a.pdf

Four Mistakes to Avoid with your Collaborative Divorce

Choosing a collaborative divorce over ending your marriage in the courtroom can save you time, money, and stress. Simply making the choice to divorce this way is not a guarantee that the divorce will be easy, though. You can make mistakes during your collaborative divorce that set the process back, cost you money, and can make it impossible to complete the process. Understanding these mistakes before you begin the divorce process is the key to avoiding them.

 Number 1:  Refusing to Compromise with your Spouse

 A collaborative divorce only works when you are willing to compromise with your spouse. Before your first collaborative divorce meeting, sit with your lawyer and make a list of your priorities for the divorce, ranked from highest to lowest. Brainstorm the compromises you are willing to make and those on which you stand firm. If you are not willing to budge at all, you will not be able to reach a mutually satisfying settlement.

 #2:  Being So Willing to Compromise that you Do Not Advocate for Yourself

 The opposite of refusing to budge on your priorities is being so willing to acquiesce to your spouse that you come away from the divorce with nothing you wanted. Remember, this is your divorce too. These are your marital assets, your children, and your future. Be willing to advocate for yourself and know when to put your foot down.

 3: Not Taking Care to Anticipate and Manage Disagreements

 You should know where you and your spouse stand on issues like alimony and parenting time before you start working on your collaborative divorce. When you identify your priorities with your lawyer, brainstorm ways to resolve the conflicts that you think will arise. Talk about these conflict resolution strategies with your spouse before the meetings as well and stick to the resolution protocol that you establish.

 4.           Being Unrealistic About your Divorce’s Outcome

 Your lawyer can help you bring your expectations for the divorce in a realistic direction. Unless your spouse is violent, suffers from a crippling addiction, or otherwise puts your children in danger when they are together, chances are you will not have sole custody of the children. Similarly, do not expect to come away from the divorce with all of your marital assets simply because you worked outside the home while your spouse worked as a homemaker. You are both entitled to a fair share of your marital assets and the opportunity to maintain a consistent relationship with your children. Enter the divorce process knowing that although you will probably not get exactly what you want, you can work with your spouse to reach a settlement that gets you pretty close.

 Ok, how about a 5th? Not working with an Experienced Collaborative Attorney

 

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Collaborative Divorce Lawyer

 A collaborative divorce is a great way to complete the divorce process in an amicable, stress-free way. If you are interested in ending your marriage through this process instead of the traditional courtroom divorce, contact The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., P.L.C. today to schedule your initial consultation with an experienced collaborative divorce lawyer in Winter Park.

 http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.08.html

 

Great Article on Affairs in The Atlantic

Marriages are not Immune to Affairs. Marriages today are very different. Affairs are also different. Difference is the key and the cautionary tale as follows:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/why-happy-people-cheat/537882/?utm_source=fbb