Collaborative Divorce Vs. Litigation

By: Angela Lennon, Koenig Dunne

Collaborative

You and your spouse are committed to resolving your divorce with mutual respect, integrity, and transparency.

You and your spouse set the timetable for moving through and completing the divorce process.

Collaborative divorce fees are more managable than a litigated divorces, even with the use of a team of experts (attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial experts).

You and your spouse craft creative solutions to meet the unique needs and interests of your family.

Litigation

The court process is based on an adversarial system that pits you against your spouse and often leaves both party feeling like "they lost.”

You and your spouse are at the mercy of a crowded court calendar to determine the length of the divorce process.

The costs of a litigated divorce are unpredictable. Each stage in a litigated divorce (initial pleadings, discovery, settlement, trial preparation, and trial) can costs thousands of dollars each.

The Court decides the issues a trial that you and your spouse are each bound to abide by.

Create Your Team

In a collaborative divorce process, couples work with a team of professionals that typically include attorneys, a financial professional and a family therapist or CDF (Collaborative Divorce Facilitator). Divorcing couples reach an agreement on major issues such as children and finances with expert help from these members.