If you are considering a divorce, you may picture the litigious style of divorce that is the traditional divorce. However, you may not be aware that there is an alternative available to this type of divorce-one that avoids much of the adversarial nature of traditional divorce that is often filled with acrimony among those involved. The alternative is called collaborative divorce. Although this alternative is gaining in popularity, it is important for divorcing couples to understand its benefits and risks before deciding whether it is right for them.

In a nutshell, the goal of collaborative divorce is to avoid the high financial and emotional costs that are often present in traditional divorce, resulting in a more amicable process. Rather than just involving attorneys and a judge, collaborative divorce also may involve a team of persons, such as financial professionals, a mediator and a mental health professional.

Before the collaborative divorce process begins, the attorneys for each spouse signs a contract to provide legal representation throughout the process. However, if the process fails, the contract stipulates that each attorney will no longer represent his or her client. As a result, if the collaborative process does not work out, the parties must find new attorneys to represent them in a traditional divorce.

The upsides and downsides of collaborative divorce

The goal of collaborative divorce is to avoid the need for litigation and encourage cooperation between the parties to arrive at a settlement. Although this may sound like a good idea to you, it is not right for everyone. Some of the benefits of the collaborative process include:

• It is often faster. Collaborative divorces may be completed in as few as four to six months. Traditional divorce, on the other hand, requires getting a court involved. This process can last up to two years, depending on the court’s schedule and complexity of the case.

• It can be less expensive. By avoiding all of the formalities and costs of litigation, collaborative divorce is often easier on the pocketbook than traditional divorce.

• It allows more control and flexibility. During collaborative divorce, the parties can seek their own solutions to the issues of child support, visitation, property division and other issues common to divorces. This allows the couple, not the court, to be in control of its own destiny and come up with creative solutions that a court could or would not reach normally.

Although collaborative divorce has several benefits, there are some downsides. For one, the success of the process relies on the willingness of the parties to be open and cooperative. In other words, the spouses must be willing to honestly share financial and other relevant information. Since a court is not involved, there is no way to force another party to comply with this requirement. As a result, collaborative divorce is a poor choice if the couple has a power imbalance or abuse is involved, as one party can dominate the other.

Additionally, collaborative divorce is sometimes not necessarily faster or less expensive than traditional divorce. Since it involves more people than traditional divorce, it can be harder to accommodate everyone’s schedules at times, which can lengthen the process. Also, these additional persons are paid for their services, which can significantly add to the cost. Finally, if the collaborative divorce process fails, the couple must start over with a traditional divorce; in such cases, the collaborative option is more lengthy and expensive.

Since collaborative divorce is not for everyone, it is best to speak to an experienced family law attorney before proceeding further. An attorney can evaluate your situation and recommend the process that would best protect your interests.