Getting married to the person you love is wonderful. But if things turn sour, you’ll find that divorce is the very antithesis of this moment. That feeling of togetherness has gone. Instead of love there is often a lack of respect and loathing… sometimes even horrible feelings of hatred.
And then reality settles in. Everything you were happy to share during a happy marriage now becomes a matter for dispute. Money, furniture, your home, possibly cars, and of course children are all at stake.
Depending where you live, you could simplify your divorce proceedings with our Alpahretta collaborative divorce attorney team. Instead of fighting out the issues in court, you can resolve your disputes in a more civil manner. Not only will it be a simpler and less stressful procedure, but usually considerably cheaper that litigation too, even though a number of professionals will be involved.
How Collaborative Divorce Works
Collaborative divorce is a fairly new concept, which, in essence enables couples to solve major problems and resolve divorce-related cases that would normally tear families apart.
The idea, as any qualified Alpharetta divorce attorney will tell you, is to negotiate divorce and related issues in a respectful way. Rather than fighting with the person you want to leave, a collaborative approach gives dignity to all parties – particularly parents and their children. You don’t even have to go to court and have a nebulous judge make the decisions that will determine what happens in your life going forward. Instead, you and your husband or wife can decide your own fate.
Traditionally the approach taken by divorce attorneys involves two sides that battle against each other – and ultimately a judge makes the decision in terms of what will happen. While judges do Collaborative Divorcetry to persuade the two parties to reach an agreement, divorce cases do often end up in trial proceedings.
With collaborative divorce, the parties negotiate their settlement and make important agreements so that everybody is as happy as they can be with the final outcome. There may be no clear winners, but this way there aren’t devastated losers either. So if you are in Georgia, a reputable Alpharetta collaborative divorce attorney can help you negotiate an acceptable collaborative agreement.
Learn to Respect Others
There is, of course, a process that needs to be followed when couples want a divorce, but there are ways to ensure that it happens in a civilized manner. These are the steps you will need to follow if you want help from an Alpharetta collaborative divorce attorney who is a specialist in this field:

  1. Meet with an attorney who specializes in this form of negotiation and discuss whether it is the right route for you to take.
  2. If you and your spouse agree that it is the best way forward, a collaborative team will be assembled. This usually consists of two lawyers, two divorce coaches, a child specialist (if children are involved), and a financial specialist.
  3. The attorneys help the couple negotiate an agreement that will be mutually beneficial. They will also file all documentation needed by the court.
  4. The divorce coaches help the couple with self-management skills and help them ensure the process will be successful.
  5. The child specialist literally works for the children, ensuring that their needs are catered for in the best possible way.
  6. Divorce so often comes down to money, so the financial specialist handles this side of the negotiation process, assisting with assembling vital paperwork and discussing possible financial repercussions of decisions made by the couple.
  7. The attorneys and their respective clients meet and discuss numerous issues including the collaborative practice agreement that will become the foundation of the entire collaborative process. Both parties are required to sign a collaborative statement of understanding that spells out their commitment to settle the case without intervention by the court. There will invariably be documents and information the couple need from one another, and this is the time to call for them.
  8. There will commonly be follow-up meetings, though quite a lot can be achieved with phone calls, and via emails and other forms of written communication.
  9. The two attorneys will prepare a final settlement agreement. If children are involved, this will include a parenting plan as well as child support worksheets and a child support addendum – as is done with any divorce case. Once the couple agrees to the wording of the final agreement, they both sign it and the attorneys file the documents with the court.

This process doesn’t only relate to couples wanting to divorce or families with children. Rather, Alpharetta collaborative divorce attorneys have used the same process to solve a number of other issues that are governed by family law. If you think the approach will work for you, contact Hastings Shadmehry, Alpharetta’s leading family law and divorce attorney to schedule an initial consultation.

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