The benefits of pursuing a collaborative divorce

It is often the case that more can be accomplished by individuals when they pool their resources and work together. This is a truth in Wisconsin workplaces, households, schools and in many social contexts people are encouraged to work together so that the resolutions they come up with serves the needs of the many, instead of just the few. In essence, collaboration is a good way for people with different perspectives to find common ground and answers to their collective troubles.

If collaboration is such a good way to solve issues, it may seem strange to readers of this family law blog that it is not the standard practice for ending marriages. As previously discussed in prior posts, collaborative divorces involve negotiations between the divorcing parties, wherein they may settle their own differences. It is important to note though that collaboration may not be possible for all divorcing couples as those that have experienced severe conflict or abuse may not be able to work together on a fair field of discourse.

For those couples that are able to work together however, collaborative divorce has many benefits. They can be more streamlined than litigated divorces and couples can put their negotiating time into the issues that are most important to them instead of following the schedules imposed by divorce courts. They can also cost less money since the often take less time, leaving divorced individuals with more financial power for their new lives.

More than anything, collaborative divorces put the power to make end-of-marriage decisions in the hands of the parties, instead of the hands of a divorce court. Individuals often feel a sense of satisfaction when they have a say in how their divorces will be settled and for these and many other reasons, collaboration may be a useful path for some Wisconsin residents who plan to end their marriages.