A ‘good’ divorce

Is such a thing possible? The answer is yes – through ‘Collaborative Law’.

Let’s look at Peter and Kate’s story:

Peter and Kate married young. Over the years, they have had three beautiful daughters, and Peter has taken over his father’s company, which has gone from strength to strength. But success has come at a price; long periods away from home have become the norm for Peter and sadly the couple have realised that they are no longer in love. Kate has asked for a divorce.

Peter and Kate have both heard horror stories about how things can spiral out of control once solicitors have been instructed. They recognise they both need legal advice, and professional support, but they want to retain control of the process. They want to avoid damage to Peter’s business. Most importantly, they want to ensure that they can still get on with each other after the divorce, because they know that this will help their daughters cope with the trauma of the breakup.

So, Peter and Kate try Collaborative Law.

What is Collaborative Law?

This starts by Peter and Kate finding their own Collaboratively qualified solicitors. There are then three key differences from the traditional process:

1. The couple and their solicitors commit in writing to avoiding court proceedings.
2. The solicitors work together, rather than against each other, to find the solutions which work best for the whole family.
3. The entire process happens by a series of meetings between Peter, Kate and both of their solicitors, so there is no lengthy written dialogue between solicitors slowing the process down.

Dealing with complexities

Kate finds it hard to deal with the complexities of Peter’s company and pension scheme. In a traditional divorce, this would have triggered a lengthy paper trail, and probably court proceedings. But, because they are meeting face to face, Peter can go through the documents with Kate and her solicitor, and instantly deal with any questions they might have. The solicitors can also bring an independent financial expert into the meetings, who puts forward the different options for dealing with Peter’s pension and the company shares, and everyone can discuss which options work best for the whole family.

With the help of their Collaborative Lawyers, Peter and Kate are able to come to a fair agreement on financial issues, and a fair agreement on how they are going to co-parent. They have remained good friends ever since. So there is such a thing as a ‘good’ divorce after all!
 
For further information please contact Robin Charrot on +44 (0)161 234 8808 or send an email