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Collaborative Divorce Process

Tag: Collaborative Divorce Process

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Can We Collaborate on Part of Our Divorce and Litigate Other Parts?

A collaborative divorce is an attractive option for many couples. With a collaborative divorce, the spouses work together to create the terms of their divorce settlement, then submit this settlement to the court to be finalized. It minimizes tension, conflict, and the expenses both partners face to complete their divorce.

The lack of court control with collaborative divorce can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes, having court oversight is beneficial because the court relies on evidence and the law, not emotions or personal relationships, to make decisions. Even a couple who can work together to effectively divide their property can have difficulty making determinations about their children’s parenting plan. If you are a couple like this, consider having the court rule on your children’s parenting plan and working that ruling into your settlement.

Submitting your Uncontested Property Division Plan to the Court

In order to complete an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse must agree on every term of your proposed divorce settlement. Even one disagreement means you have an uncontested divorce and must go through the process of having that disagreement sorted out in court.

If you agree to your property division terms, you can move past this part of the process and onto the contested areas of your divorce.

Involving the Court in your Parenting Plan Order

The court acts in your children’s best interest. It is nearly always in a child’s best interest to have a continuing, consistent relationship with both parents after their divorce. On a more micro scale, serving a specific child’s best interest could mean living primarily with the parent who resides in a town with a more academically rigorous school system or with the parent who is more involved with the child’s day-to-day tasks, like helping with homework and involvement in his or her extracurriculars.

To make an appropriate determination about a child’s parenting plan, the court considers a long set of factors about the child’s needs and the parents’ lifestyles. These include any history of domestic violence in either parent’s home, the child’s relationship with each parent and the others in their households, and each parent’s willingness to cooperate with the court on orders regarding their child. In some cases, outside parties like child custody evaluators are brought in to help the court determine the right parenting plan for a divorcing couple’s children. The parents can also help the court reach its determination by providing evidence that sheds light on the child’s lifestyle and needs, like copies of the child’s report cards and medical record.

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Collaborative Divorce Lawyer

If you are planning to end your marriage, speak with an experienced divorce lawyer to learn more about collaboration and how it might fit into your divorce plan. Every divorce is unique, and you might find that collaboration can work for you and your spouse. To learn more, contact our team at Aubrey Law in Winter Park today to set up your initial consultation in our office.

Resource:

childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/best_interest.pdf

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Ways Business Owners can Benefit from Collaborative Divorce

If you established your small business after you were married or it grew considerably in value during the marriage, it is subject to equitable division alongside your other marital assets during your divorce unless you specified in a prenuptial agreement that the business is a piece of separate property.

By choosing to divorce through collaborative law, you retain greater control over the property division process. As a business owner, choosing a collaborative divorce can be a strategic move – rather than having the court value and divide your business, you and your spouse can work together to find a post-divorce business solution that works for you. Consider the following ways a business owner can benefit from opting for a collaborative divorce:

You can Split the Business in a Way that Makes Sense for you and your Spouse

Generally, a couple who runs a small business chooses one of the following options in their divorce:

  • Selling the business and splitting the proceeds;
  • Altering the structure of the business to be a partnership so both parties hold a separate interest in it; or
  • One partner buying out the other’s share of the business while the other recoups the loss of the business share with a larger share of the couple’s other assets.

In all of these scenarios, the business must be appraised. There are a few methods the court may use to value a small business. With collaborative divorce, you and your spouse can choose the valuation method you feel is most effective and determine how to divide the shares, especially if you do not plan to divide it equitably. For example, one spouse might want to retain a small interest in the business as an investment while the other takes on its day-to-day operation. In a collaborative divorce, you can be more creative with your post-divorce business plan, which can even include continuing to operate the business together.

Handling the Division of your Business and Other Assets Privately can Save Time and Money

For a business owner, saving money is always a priority. As you know, time is money – the more time you spend in court to work out the details of your divorce, the more money you have to spend and the less time you have to work on building and maintaining your business.

Personal debt you accrue from paying for a traditional divorce can also impact your credit score, which in turn can impact your ability to take out the business loans you need to grow your company.

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Collaborative Divorce Attorney

For a divorcing business owner, collaborative divorce has many benefits. Contact Aubrey Law today to schedule your legal consultation in our office and learn more about these benefits. After speaking about your case with an experienced Winter Park divorce attorney, you will know whether collaborative divorce is the right choice for you.

Resource:

thebalance.com/business-valuation-methods-2948478

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Collaborative Divorce for Unconventional Circumstances

Every marriage is unique. Logically, this means that every divorce is unique, even though they generally involve the same issues to settle, such as how the couple’s property is divided and how the couple with handle co-parenting after the divorce. There is no one-size-fits-all divorce method, and when couples try to force their divorces to fit specific molds, they often come away feeling frustrated and unsatisfied with their divorce settlement terms.

Collaborative divorce puts couples in the drivers’ seats of their divorces, rather than leaving the rulings that they will have to live with up to the court. Collaborative divorce is an especially attractive option for couples with unconventional circumstances and needs, such as business owners and those willing to try modern co-parenting arrangements like birdnesting.

You Know What is Best for your Children. Develop the Ideal Co-Parenting Plan for Them

There are many different ways to handle co-parenting after a divorce. When the court makes a co-parenting determination, it does so with the child’s best interest in mind. You might determine that your child’s best interests are served by a birdnesting agreement or another alternative timesharing arrangement. If you and your spouse agree to an unconventional parenting plan like incorporating boarding school or time with extended family, work together to include this in your collaborative divorce settlement.

Some Couples Live Together After their Divorces

For some couples, the idea of living with a former spouse is laughable. For others, it is necessary and even attractive. If you are considering remaining in the same household after your divorce, even if you are in different units of a multi-family property, it is important to take this into consideration when developing the terms of your divorce settlement. Remaining in close quarters after your divorce can make it easy to deviate from your property division settlement, so it is important that you are clear and in total agreement about this settlement before starting live as a cohabitating divorced couple.

Splitting Up or Reorganizing your Business is Easier when you are In Control

If you and your spouse owned a business together, valuing the business so it can be equitably divided between you is an important part of the divorce process. But what if you both want to continue operating the business? In a case like this, your interests will still have to be divided and you will continue the business operation as partners.

Even if you do not want to continue operating the business together, you will need to find a fair way to divide it. Whether one of you plans to continue operating it will determine how you divide it and its assets.

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Divorce Attorney

Contact The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., PLLC today to set up your initial consultation with an experienced Winter Park divorce attorney. During your consultation, you can discuss your specific divorce goals and needs with Mr. Ducker to determine an appropriate plan for ending your marriage. Never assume that your ideal divorce is unattainable – it, or something close to it, could be very doable through collaborative divorce.

Resources:

nypost.com/2016/04/28/is-birdnesting-the-stupidest-or-smartest-divorce-trend-yet/

thebalance.com/business-valuation-methods-2948478

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Working Out the Terms of your Spousal Support Agreement in a Collaborative Divorce

Spousal support, also known as alimony, is an issue that arises in many Florida divorces. It is the money one partner pays to the other after their divorce, generally for a fixed period of time but sometimes, until the receiving spouse remarries or either partner dies. This money is intended to help the spouse who opted out of the full-time workforce to care for the couple’s home and children during the marriage to avoid financial hardship.

In a collaborative divorce, the divorcing couple works together to make their own determinations about their divorce settlement, rather than having the court make them. Alimony is often an issue discussed during collaborative divorces alongside parenting time and the division of the couple’s marital assets.

In Florida, you Can Waive your Right to Seek Spousal Support

Florida law permits individuals to waive their right to seek alimony in the event of their divorces in prenuptial agreements. This is not the case in all states.

Just like a collaborative divorce, a prenuptial agreement requires a couple to be flexible and willing to work together to make determinations that benefit them both, even in unpleasant situations like divorce.

Waiving Spousal Support in Exchange for a Larger Share of Marital Assets

When you divorce through collaboration, rather than litigation, you and your spouse work together to reach a divorce agreement that best fits your needs. In any divorce, dividing your marital assets is a component of the final settlement and often, it is the largest component of the settlement. Talk about potentially opting out of alimony in exchange for a more favorable share of your marital assets with your spouse, but also with your lawyer privately – there could be issues you do not initially recognize, like large tax burdens associated with certain marital assets or the long-term impact of choosing not to create an alimony order.

Collaborative Divorce is All About Keeping Control of your Divorce

Couples who choose collaborative divorce are often more satisfied with the results of their divorces than couples who divorce through litigation.

If you took on lower-paying jobs or opted out of the workforce completely during your marriage, alimony is a way to protect your financial future. Do not confuse the need to be amicable in a collaborative divorce with a need to agree with everything your spouse suggests. If you feel alimony is in your best interest, explain this and support your position with relevant facts during your collaborative divorce meetings. Your lawyer is your advocate, but you also need to advocate for yourself.

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Divorce Lawyer

When you are considering divorce, you have a lot on your mind. Before you begin the collaborative divorce process, discuss these issues with your divorce lawyer so you begin the process educated about Florida’s divorce laws and what you can expect given your case’s unique circumstances. Contact Aubrey Law today to schedule your initial consultation with us.

Resource:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.079.html

What to Do If your Spouse Makes False Accusations About you During the Divorce Process

When you are working through a divorce, there are a lot of issues that will come up in court or during your mediation or collaborative divorce sessions. This is because in order to fairly divide your property and determine an appropriate child custody arrangement for your family, facts about your income, assets, physical and mental health, and interpersonal relationships are all considered. When one party lies about the other, he or she can skew the court’s perspective of the couple and cause the other partner to suffer the consequences of an unfair judgment.

If you are facing false accusations from your spouse about your parenting ability, your income or assets, or issues in your personal life such as drug addiction or involvement in criminal activity, you need to be proactive and work with a divorce attorney to prove to the court that your spouse’s claims are not true.

Proving That False Accusations are Not True

If your spouse makes claims about you that are not true, you can show the court the truth by providing them with documentation to the contrary. For example, if your spouse makes the claim that you are hiding assets in secret bank accounts or that you have transferred wealth into a friend or relative’s name to keep it out of the divorce proceeding, show the court copies of your financial statements to prove otherwise. If your spouse goes to the length of having his or her attorney investigate your accounts in an attempt to find hidden assets, cooperate with the investigation to show that you have nothing to hide.

When a spouse’s accusation has to do with your parenting ability, it can be more difficult to demonstrate the truth. In a situation like this, it is in your best interest to counter your spouse’s claim by providing evidence to the contrary. You can use testimonies from your child’s teacher, pediatrician, and other adults in your child’s life to show that you are an active, involved parent and that you have a strong relationship with your child.

If an accusation has to do with your personal life, such as an accusation that you are spending marital funds on an adulterous partner or that you are using drugs, ask your partner to provide evidence to back up his or her claim. If he or she cannot prove that you are spending money on a new partner, his or her claim has no standing. If you are asked to take a drug test and you are not using drugs, take the test to show that you are clean.

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Divorce Lawyer

If you are considering filing for divorce, work with experienced Winter Park divorce and family lawyer Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr. of The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., PLLC. Contact our firm today to set up your initial legal consultation with us. We can answer any questions you have and guide you toward the next steps in the divorce process.

An Overview of The Collaborative Divorce Process

Divorce is not a “one size fits all” subject. Not all divorces are completed in courtrooms and of those that are not, there are multiple ways to reach a mutually-satisfying resolution for the couple.

Two methods of alternative dispute resolution that divorcing couples often choose to complete their divorces are collaborative divorce and mediation. With mediation, the couple works with a neutral third party to determine the right settlement for them. With a collaborative divorce, the couple has complete control over their divorce settlement. This level of control can result in varying levels of satisfaction among couples, depending on other factors present in their marriages. Before you decide to divorce through collaborative law, speak with your divorce attorney to determine if it is the right choice for you.

If you do opt to divorce via collaborative law, the process is completed through a series of meetings between the spouses and their attorneys. Each spouse should have his or her own lawyer for this process.

Other Parties Can be Included in the Collaborative Process

Although the divorcing couple has the final say in all aspects of their settlement, professionals other than their attorneys could be present at their meetings to aid in the process of reaching this settlement. These individuals can include a neutral accountant or a child custody evaluator.

Couples Often Sign a “No Court” Agreement

The goal of a collaborative divorce is to complete the divorce process outside of court. This document holds each party to that agreement. However, sometimes a couple realizes after they start the collaborative process that they need court intervention to reach a fair settlement. Generally, the “no court” agreement stipulates that the attorneys withdraw from the case in the event it has to go to court.

Some Court Interaction is Still Required

Although the bulk of the collaborative process occurs outside of court, some interaction with the court is still necessary. When you and your spouse reach an agreement and you and your lawyers sign the settlement, you must file it with the circuit court of the country where you or your spouse lives, if you live in different counties.

Collaborative Divorce Saves Money

Most individuals who choose collaborative divorce cite this as the reason why. But remember, while you are saving money by avoiding court fees, you can potentially lose money when your assets are divided because of the lack of court oversight. Consider very carefully whether you and your partner can handle directing your own divorce before you move forward with the collaborative process.

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Divorce Lawyer

If you are considering filing for divorce, consider divorcing through collaborative law. Although this option is not right for every couple, it can have a lot of benefits for those who choose it. To learn more about collaborative divorce and other divorce topics, contact The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., PLLC to set up your initial legal consultation with experienced divorce attorney Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr. He can answer your questions and give you the legal advice you need to move forward with your divorce.