Collaborative Divorce with Jill Bicks
Is this the right process for you? It is for most people unless you’re dealing with serious abuse. The best part about it is that you can bring in other neutral professionals (therapist, financial planner, etc.) as part of the process to help prevent blow-ups. Typically, this “team” has worked together before and they know the end game.
You and your spouse each have an attorney representing you, but more from a problem-solving approach. It takes the fight out of the game and talking about issues from a “win-win” perspective.
In collaboration, you are all sharing the same set of documents, same financial statements. It’s super-efficient because one neutral expert if managing that piece. So, if you’re worried about getting papers, this eliminates that worry.
This is also a great process for eliminating post judgement; that means that a lot of time you go back to the table post-divorce as issues change, and it costs money. Collaboration anticipates much of this and addresses it as part of the process first time around.
If it breaks down, have an understanding upfront that if at impasse, we will go to mediation to bring in new ideas and avoid litigation. Go forth and collaborate!