Most people have heard horror stories about divorce, with spouses making hurtful jabs at each other, hiding assets from the property division process and even alienating their children against each other. Although these highly contentious situations exist in family law, your marriage dissolution doesn’t have to take a similar track. In fact, there are several divorce options out there to suit your needs. If you can effectively communicate with your spouse and you want to find an amicable resolution that is fair for all parties involved, then you might want to consider collaborative divorce.
That said, even though the collaborative divorce process should involve you and your spouse working together with a team of experts to find a fair resolution, you still have to be prepared heading into the process. If you aren’t, then you could still end up missing out on opportunities to protect your post-divorce future. With that in mind, let’s look at some steps you should take to prepare for collaborative divorce.
There’s probably a lot on your mind as you head into the divorce process. But you can’t let your concerns blind you to the preparations that are needed to adequately navigate the collaborative divorce process. Here are some tips that may help you ready yourself for collaborative divorce in a way that protects your interests:
- Learn about the process: Collaborative divorce can be a great option for you, but you need to fully understand it so that you know how to get the most out of the process. Therefore, part of your prep work should be simply reading up on collaborative divorce and what it entails.
- Identify a strong team to assist you: Finding your way through the divorce process on your own can be tough. That’s collaborative divorce often utilizes a number of experts who can help you make the fully informed decisions that are right for you. For example, having a financial planner on your side can assist you in figuring out which assets you need from the property division process to secure to meet your short and long-term goals. A divorce coach can help you deal with the stress of your situation and address parenting time issues. Make sure you have a team that you can rely upon in your collaborative divorce so that you obtain a resolution that truly protects your future.
- Know your goals: You and your spouse can’t work toward mutually beneficial resolution if you don’t have a strong understanding of what you want out of your divorce. So, sit down and take the time to fully understand what it is that you want out of the process so that you can meaningfully discuss it with your spouse.
- Gather relevant documentation: You’ll need evidence to support your position, even during collaborative divorce. So, be sure to gather any documentation that might support your arguments and that’ll spur a dialogue with your spouse. This includes bank statements, statements pertaining to retirement accounts, outstanding bills and records pertaining to your children.
Divorce doesn’t have to be an all-out war. There are several strategies that you can use to reduce conflict and find a fair and favorable outcome that positions you for a successful post-divorce life. Collaborative divorce is one of them.