- Educate your spouse on “Collaborative Divorce” by referring them to the Collaborative Professionals of Phoenix, Collaborative Divorce Illinois and/or the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
- Be assured that the team will be collaborative, so the parties do not necessarily have to be in order for this process to work.
- It is helpful for the parties to first go to a “neutral” team member to discuss the collaborative divorce option and the benefits of this process over litigation. The neutral will be the mental health coach or the financial coach. You can find the neutrals by going to the websites above as the members of the collaborative professionals are all listed.
- Conflict is expensive so invest in your collaborative divorce team up front which will save you money in the end and give you tools to manage conflict.
- If you have children, ask yourself what you want your children to think about the divorce process 10 years from now. A collaborative divorce with a child specialist who assists in preparing a parenting plan with special insert plans, if necessary, will be a significant asset to your children minimizing trauma that could have long term health effects for them as studies have shown after going through the litigation process.
- Your collaborative divorce team will generate options and ideas from their different roles, education and training for you and your spouse to use while deciding your own outcome rather than a judge who will know very little about you and your children.
- If you have any questions, please reach out to the organizations who have collaborative divorce professional as members.