INDUSTRY INSIGHT
DIVORCE
SPONSORED CONTENT
Is “No-Court Divorce”
Possible? Yes It Is!
Collaborative
Divorce
T
HERE IS A “NEW” APPROACH TO GETTING A DIVORCE.
IT’S CALLED “COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE” AND I HOPE
YOU WILL KEEP READING FOR THE BENEFIT OF FRIENDS,
FAMILY OR EVEN YOURSELF. In a Collaborative Divorce, the couple
and their specially trained lawyers all agree they will not go to court
and will instead, in a series of meetings, discuss the issues and come
to resolution on all matters, including custody, child support, division
of assets, alimony and even the pets!
It’s a respectful way to resolve differences, and can also involve
other specially trained professionals in the financial and mental health
professions who educate, support and guide couples in reaching
balanced and thoughtful decisions. Parties agree to fully disclose
information to each other, and that information is exchanged,
reviewed and discussed at the table. Meetings are usually 1-2 hours
and can be held wherever the group decide s. It proves to be an
efficient and much less costly approach compared to a litigationmodel divorce involving much posturing by the lawyers, many letters,
trips to court and an eventual trial. In a Collaborative Divorce, a
marital settlement agreement is drafted and signed, and the divorce
can be finalized much more quickly.
I’m sure many of you have heard stories about, or maybe even
personally experienced, the horrors of a prolonged, contentious, ugly,
expensive litigation-model divorce or custody battle. The costs of
getting divorced or deciding custody can escalate quickly, especially
if experts need to be hired or formal discovery is required. In some
cases, the costs can exceed $100,000. The “scorched earth” approach
to divorce results in much animosity between the parties, even where
it didn’t exist before. And, in a litigation-model divorce, the children,
even adult children, suffer for the rest of their lives trying to deal with
the fallout from the contentious divorce of their parents.
It is important to try to decide together, before either party hires
a lawyer, to use the Collaborative Process, as not all lawyers are
interested in trying to settle a case amicably.
I happen to be one of the founding members of the Collaborative
Law Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania (CLASP), a group of
approximately 100 collaborative lawyers and other professionals
who decided to change the approach to divorce 10 years ago. CLASP
This Industry Insight was written by Kathleen D. Schneider.
Attorney Schneider, both a lawyer and a CPA, is a founding member of the Collaborative
Law Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania (CLASP) and maintains a general law
practice in Edgewood where she focuses on family law, divorce, taxation, estates and
trusts, adoption, LGBT issues, real estate and small business start-ups. Please visit her
website at www.kdschneiderlawoffice.com.
14 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Woodland Hills
members are some of the best family law attorneys in the area and
are dedicated to making divorce a healthier, less contentious and
less costly experience for our clients. We are seeing more and more
couples who have decided to try to divorce in a more respectful
and less costly way. I am always happy to offer a consultation at no
charge to discuss whether the collaborative process would be best
for you. You can obtain information on the CLASP website, www.
clasplaw.org, where you will also see the list of specially trained
collaborative professionals in this area who are available to assist
you. You can learn more about my practice by visiting my website at
www.kdschneiderlawoffice.com.