This is the fourth in a multi-part series -How to Get a Divorce- Collaborative Divorce in Difficult Economic Times- on your options in the divorce process by A Better Divorce member, Christopher M. Moore of Moore, Bryan & Schroff LLP in Torrance, California.
Divorce Coaching
In most divorce cases, emotions run high. The parties can experience feelings like anger, denial, anxiety, and depression that make it hard to reach agreement on the real issues like the financial settlement and a parenting plan for the kids. To work past these dark emotions, the lawyers will urge each party to have a coach. The coaches are mental health professionals, but don’t act as therapists for their clients; rather the coaches create a team out of the parties, the coaches and the lawyers.
Professionals who practice Collaborative Divorce have been trained to mold both sides into a team with one goal. Where issues require an outside expert, the lawyers will agree on a neutral expert such as an accountant or child specialist.
Collaborative Divorce can have its negatives. The cost of the professional team, with lawyers, coaches and possible neutral experts, may seem daunting. If collaboration fails and the case must go to litigation, there is a cost to the parties in hiring new lawyers.
Experience teaches, though, that a collaborative divorce is almost always faster, cheaper and more amicable than litigation. That each party has a
lawyer avoids the potential for abuse. The coaches reduce the parties’ anger so they can get to the negotiating table.
A strong case can be made that in these difficult economic times Collaborative Divorce offers the best route to a divorce that is fast, friendly and fair.
Christopher Moore is a member of A Better Divorce- A Collaborative Family Law Group in the South Bay area of California, a certified family law specialist, and a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He has specialized in family law for many years. Those years as a litigator have taught him that collaborative practice is the best way to resolve a divorce. A collaborative case is always faster, costs less and is less stressful than a conventional case where the parties face court congestion, delays and an adversarial, often hostile, relationship. For more information about Christopher and his firm please click here.