Couples get divorced for a reason — sometimes many. Collaborative divorce in Connecticut, often touted as a more peaceful means to end a marriage, may not be the best way of handling a split. Sometimes the animosity between a couple may be too great for them to divorce amicably, even with outside help.
Some assume that a traditional divorce is only for those couples who can’t use or don’t want to use an alternative dispute resolution approach to the proceedings. However, getting a traditional divorce doesn’t mean there will be battles every step of the way. A couple can still decide how they would like their settlement to look. Collaborative divorce does not happen in a courtroom, so there may be less chance to question issues such as the possible misrepresentation of facts.
In fact, if the collaborative process fails, the two individuals will not be able to use the same lawyers to represent each of them in court. So, a new attorney just might have to start from the very beginning. That may be harder financially for both individuals. And collaborative efforts come with a price tag and if they fail, the people will have shelled out money for nothing and will have to dig even deeper to hire new attorneys.
Collaborative divorce may work well in many Connecticut divorce cases, but may not be the right process for all separating couples. A family law attorney would be able to advise his or her client on how to proceed after having learned about each individual case. A courtroom doesn’t always have to be a battleground.
Source: FindLaw.com, “5 Reasons to Avoid Collaborative Divorce“, George Khoury, Accessed on Dec. 16, 2017