Divorce Alternatives
People who are considering divorce are typically experiencing a variety of emotions and are faced with making tough decisions. These decisions have enormous consequences for them individually and other family members. Many wonder, is there more than one way to divorce? The answer is yes. In today’s legal world, there are alternatives available to parties seeking to avoid adversarial litigation and arrive at a more amicable divorce.
Parties who desire a friendly or amicable divorce do not always begin with an agreement on division of property or custody of children. And so, the parties need a way to reach a resolution on the items that they do not initially agree upon. Moreover, they need to find a way to do so that does not result in scorched earth between them.
Collaborative Law
Outside of adversarial litigation, there are other ways to work out problems. One method is Collaborative Law. Collaborative Law is an approach that seeks to avoid the traditional adversarial litigation model in favor of a team approach to conflict resolution. The team consists of a Financial Neutral, a Child Specialist, and a Divorce Coach. Attorneys that practice collaborative law are specially trained. Also, they have made a commitment to the team approach to resolve the divorce. The parties agree, in a written contract, to jointly retain the necessary specialists to assist in reaching an agreement. In addition, the attorneys involved agree that neither will represent either party in court if the collaborative effort is unsuccessful.
Mediation
Another method outside of adversarial litigation is the utilization of a mediator. In the Mediation Process, the parties and their attorneys typically exchange information prior to mediation so that assets, debts and income are documented. Most mediators in our area use shuffle mediation. This involves the mediator going to and from the two sides with the hopes of bringing the parties to an agreement on each issue.
In either of these scenarios, it is important to choose the right attorney who can help you reach your goals. Parties seeking a divorce the nice way should convey that to the attorney. The attorney should be familiar with the courts in your areas and, of course, up date on the laws impacting your case. In either Collaboration or Mediation, the attorney can still be your advocate and advise you on what your legal options are throughout the process.
At Held Law Firm, we will work with you to achieve your goals and achieve an amicable divorce while still being your advocate. Please give us a call at (865) 685-4780 if you would like to set up a consultation with one of our attorneys to discuss your divorce.~~ Melanie Hogg
