Collaborative divorce in Michigan, and around the country, is an approach to divorce that can lower conflict, shorten the process, and save money while reducing the stress involved. In a collaborative divorce, the lawyers and parties spend most of their time in mediation and negotiation rather than in court.
Collaborative divorce
Divorces can be extremely confrontational and lead to escalating conflict, even when they start out as relatively amicable. The courtroom setting creates a competitive atmosphere that can push the parties towards more aggressive tactics and an urge to win on every point. Court appearances are also quite expensive in terms of legal fees, and they can take a long time for the divorce to be resolved. A collaborative divorce has as much of the core questions as possible resolved in mediation.
In mediation, the parties can talk about their goals and what they want without it progressing to a conflict. This is a faster and less stressful way to get a divorce resolved. Most parties to divorce just want to get it over with, and the little points and details are less important than coming to an agreement on the big picture. Collaborative divorce promotes this by helping the parties talk through their key points and guiding them towards a resolution with a neutral arbitrator to oversee the process.
Mediation is a great way for divorce parties to save time and money while getting the divorce they want without nearly as much stress as going through the courts. Then both parties can move on without the legal process consuming more of their lives and impacting their finances for a long time.