In 2003, the Los Angeles County South Bay area collaborative practice group known as A Better Divorce began its continuing tradition of holding a retreat every two years. The accompanying photo shows the group in 2003 participating in our first retreat. The key to an effective collaborative divorce process is trust, and the group recognized early on that a biennial retreat would be a key building block in establishing trust among the professionals in the group—the attorneys, financial consultants, and mental health professionals. (Trust among ourselves is the foundation to establishing trust with our clients.) It has proved true, and […]
What is a Collaborative Divorce?
Divorce is often filled with roadblocks and detours, there can be so many gray areas that need to be worked through, and it can be financially and emotionally draining. But did you know there is a process that looks at the family as a whole? The goal is to help couples divorce amicably, co-parent together and keep the family unit intact for the future by not pitting couples against each other in a bitter court-litigated divorce. It is called a collaborative divorce. Let’s dive into the process to learn more about it. In a traditional court divorce, you will often […]
What Is A Litigated Divorce and Why There Are Better Options
Getting a divorce can often feel like a kick in the pants, emotionally, mentally and financially. Your world stops turning, and then when it’s all said and done, you are often unsure how you go on. This is especially true when you go through a litigated divorce through the court system. There are many different aspects of a court divorce. Let us share them with you: Litigation is considered the traditional divorce process that involves court proceedings Both spouses retain their own lawyer who represents them in the process Frequently court divorces become very heated and adversarial because the lawyer […]
What Are the Top Reasons for a Divorce?
It is an unfortunate moment in someone’s life when they realize the person they once loved with their heart and soul is no longer the person they want to remain married to, and a divorce is the only path forward. And when our team of collaborative divorce experts meets with couples for the very first time, we are often made aware of the reason for the divorce. We have found that for most divorcing couples, their reason for divorcing is often a common one. Here are a few of them: Physical, verbal or emotional abuse to spouse or children Marital […]
How to Lessen the Stress That Divorce Can Have on Children
Many experts will tell you that the stress from divorce closely equals the death of an immediate family member, such as a spouse or child. Sometimes divorce will take everything, financially and emotionally, out of you and leave you feeling lost. But there is a better way – a way that will lessen the sting and leave your family intact. It’s called collaborative divorce. In this model, you and your spouse have a team consisting of a neutral financial advisor, mental health experts and an attorney for each of you, ready to help both of you weather the divorce storm. […]