We at the Duke Firm of Austin know all aspects of family law and have experience handling divorce cases. Divorce can be complicated, and emotionally damaging on everyone. One of the easiest ways of handling a divorce is to sit down with your significant other and go over the options.
Hopefully you can both agree on the major arrangements, such as splitting of the property, alimony payments, child custody, visitation rights, and child support.
If you can both agree on the settlement, you may want to go with a collaborative divorce. Basically, this means that you and your spouse each contact a lawyer and you work with your respected lawyers to resolve the divorce, without having to set foot in court.
Many divorces are settled out of court nowadays, as it takes less time, and is significantly cheaper as well as less stressful on you and your family.
In the case of a collaborative divorce, you and your spouse both sign what is called a participation agreement, meaning that the both of you have collaborated, and have come to agreement on all the terms of the divorce.
This way, your entire divorce is controlled by you and your spouse as well as your attorneys, as opposed to a traditional divorce, which is controlled by the courts as well as a judge.
When you, your spouse, and attorneys sign the agreement, it shows that you both agree to the following:
- You will make all attempts to negotiate the divorce without having to go to court.
- If agreements cannot be reached, then the lawyers will withdraw from your case, and you will both have to go with traditional divorce lawyers.
- You and your spouse will both act professionally and with integrity in disclosing any important information necessary to reaching an agreement.
If any of these terms are violated, then the collaborative divorce turns into a traditional divorce. Since that differs from a collaborative divorce, both attorneys will have to withdraw from your case, and you will both have to seek a lawyer who practices a traditional divorce. You and your spouse will have to make one or more appearances in court, costing you more money due to court fees. If children are involved in your divorce, and agreements cannot be reached on their well-being, then they are exposed to heartbreaking custody battles.
Divorce can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be a devastating process. If you are facing a divorce, and you and your spouse have decided to go with a collaborative divorce, call a divorce attorney in Austin at the Duke Firm in Austin at 888-314-5720, or complete our quick contact web form.
