Texas spouses may be considering the collaborative law divorce process to finalize their divorce settlements. The benefits of collaborative law are what tend to draw people to resolving their divorces in this fashion. Couples tend to settle their divorces faster, more economically and less stressfully through collaborative law proceedings than through other methodologies.
That said, most people don’t know a lot about collaborative law, so it’s beneficial to learn a little bit of background on collaborative proceedings.
What is a collaborative law divorce about, anyway?
The most important element of the collaborative law process relates to both parties’ commitment to settle the divorce in a reasoned, peaceful and respectful fashion. This means that if a disagreement arises during the collaborative law process, both parties will take the time to respect and consider the other person’s perspective with the goal of reaching a compromise.
Before the collaborative law process begins, both spouses will actually sign an agreement relating to their commitment to enter the process in good faith.
Each party in the divorce will have a collaborative law-trained lawyer present. Part of the collaborative attorneys’ commitment involves withdrawing from the case in the event that the collaborative law proceedings fail to end in a successful divorce agreement.
During collaborative proceedings, the spouses will meet in a neutral setting — like a conference room or an office — where the negotiations will take place. During the proceedings, both sides are free to speak openly and considerately, and both sides will respect one another by providing room and space to air their views. Family law counselors, financial experts, appraisers and other professionals could be brought in during the process to offer the opinions and guidance regarding the divorce settlement agreement.
The goal is a finalized divorce settlement
When successful, the collaborative divorce process will result in a finalized divorce settlement agreement, child custody agreement and parenting plan which will then be provided to a Texas family court judge for final approval. Couples who want to benefit from the collaborative law process during their divorces may wish to learn more about collaborative law and how it can be of benefit to them and their families.