Collaborative Law Offers Major Benefits for Divorcing Parents and Their Children

 Posted on February 18, 2020 in Main

Making the decision to get a divorce is rarely easy but divorcing with children can be especially taxing. If you and your spouse have come to the conclusion that your marriage is beyond saving, you may be researching your options for how to resolve divorce issues with minimal conflict for the sake of your children. Divorces involving parenting issues is often much different from a divorce with no children because divorcing parents typically remain at least somewhat involved in each other’s lives. One way some parents are able reach an agreement about child-related issues is through a collaborative divorce.

Why Choose Collaborative Divorce?

Many divorcing spouses have trouble reaching an agreement about the terms of their divorce. When parents cannot agree on how to share parental responsibilities, formerly called child custody, or parenting time, formerly called visitation, they have several options. They can negotiate an agreement with help from their lawyers, work with a qualified mediator, resolve the issues using collaborative law, or litigate in court. Courtroom litigation is a time-consuming, expensive, and often adversarial process. Being in a courtroom can make parents feel like they are fighting against each other instead of working together for the benefit of their children. Collaborative divorce is an approach that is cooperative and non-hostile in nature. It gives parents an opportunity to work with lawyers and other professionals to reach a resolution to divorce issues that they both agree to. Furthermore, unlike during litigation, the conversations had during a collaborative divorce are confidential.

What is Involved in an Illinois Collaborative Divorce?

During a collaborative divorce, each spouse retains a lawyer qualified to practice collaborative law. The spouses and their lawyers hold a series of meetings in which they discuss solutions to unresolved divorce issues. Child development specialists and other experts may also attend these meetings and offer their professional guidance. Spouses, lawyers, and other participants in the collaborative process sign a “participation agreement.” In the agreement, the participants agree to be honest, remain cooperative, and not go to court. Attorneys offer legal guidance and ideas that the spouses may not have considered and facilitate productive negotiations. Many parents find that collaborative divorce allows them to discuss divorce issues in a way that does not further degrade their already rocky relationship. Parents are typically better suited to be effective co-parents when they make decisions about child-related matters together instead of through the court.

Contact a Wheaton Collaborative Divorce Lawyer

To learn more about how the collaborative family law process, contact an experienced DuPage County collaborative divorce attorney from Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC. Call our office at 630-665-7300 and schedule a confidential consultation today.

Source:

http://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3804