The Collaborative Divorce Process Versus Divorce Mediation

Authored by Jordan Trager

Like divorce mediation, collaborative divorce is a voluntary process where the parties work together to resolve their marital dispute by identifying problems and solutions, and by reaching decisions together that will serve each of them and their children. Like mediation, this is achieved outside of the traditional courtroom setting in an environment that promotes cooperation.

However, unlike mediation, the parties each retain their own lawyers, who are specially trained in the collaborative process, and who agree to forgo the litigation process. Sometimes other professionals will be involved, such as therapists and financial advisers. The lawyers and professionals are there to help their clients better communicate with one another, to reach a deeper understanding of what is important to them, and to provide alternatives that will work better for them and their children.

Good candidates for collaborative divorce are parties who want to forgo litigation and the courtroom setting but still want the assistance of lawyers during the process, and who prefer joint decision making to resolve their marital dispute. By choosing collaborative divorce, the parties seek to achieve a win-win scenario, while reducing the emotional and financial costs of litigation.