Divorce is Painful, But It Doesn’t Need to Be Destructive
In the United States, almost 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. For many, divorce can be devastating.
Movies have portrayed divorce as a vicious experience where everyone loses. So how can a couple divorce without the often-portrayed fighting in court? For many couples, Collaborative Divorce can provide a better, more positive experience.
Collaborative Divorce Provides a Peaceful Option
Collaborative Divorce brings together a team of specially trained lawyers, mental health professionals, and financial advisors who work with each spouse to reach a fair agreement with privacy and respect. Instead of creating a war, the Collaborative Process focuses on preventing court battles and on helping spouses solve problems jointly (even when they have not been able to do so in the past). Collaborative Divorce also helps couples truly make their children a priority.
How Does Collaborative Divorce Work?
Collaborative Divorce utilizes a team approach. Collaborative Divorce attorneys provide you and your spouse with legal counsel and representation. A Collaborative Divorce Coach works with both of you to help you negotiate your evolving relationship and provides you with useful strategies for navigating your current and future relationship. A Divorce Financial Specialist helps you understand your financial situation, craft a fair settlement, and develop realistic financial scenarios for your future. Finally, a Child Specialist can help you create an appropriate parenting plan and establish a workable way for you and your spouse to communicate about your children after your divorce.
Collaborative Divorce provides you and your spouse with an incentive for staying out of court. If, for any reason, either you or your spouse decides to go to court, the Collaborative Team is dissolved and you both must start over with new divorce professionals.
How Can You Find Collaborative Professionals in the Chicago Area?
The Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois (CLII) is a professional association consisting of hundreds of credentialed professionals who are specially trained in the Collaborative Divorce Process. CLII’s membership is comprised of attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial specialists who are devoted to helping clients use the Collaborative Process to divorce in a less destructive way than traditional litigation. CLII’s website has a searchable directory for Chicago-area professionals who can help you.
No divorce is easy. But Collaborative Divorce can make your divorce easier. Because Collaborative Divorce proceedings are conducted in meeting rooms (as opposed to court rooms), the details of your life are more likely to remain private. You and your spouse (not the judge) control the pace of your divorce. The Collaborative team provides you and your spouse with essential emotional support and they help you and your spouse establish a way to talk to each other productively both during and after your divorce. Finally, the Collaborative Process can cost much less than litigating your case through trial.
If you know someone who might benefit from CLII’s resources, please share this information. You can also visit the CLII webpage and Facebook page to find lots of valuable FREE information and resources.
Website: collablawil.org
Facebook: facebook.com/collablawil
Phone: 312-882-8000
