Why Couples are Opting for Collaborative Divorce in Texas

 Posted on December 21, 2016 in Uncategorized

Divorce is undoubtedly difficult, but many times, couples will make the process more difficult than it has to be. From fighting over pointless items such as the couch or TV to being unreasonable regarding child custody arrangements, many couples unnecessarily turn their divorce into an all-out war. At the Law Offices of Stephen Clark we believe in helping couples achieve a collaborative divorce. A collaborative divorce is one in which both spouses agree from the very beginning of the process to work with attorneys who will act more as 'settlement specialists' and who will do everything in their power to avoid litigation entirely.

If a collaborative divorce sounds like something that you might be interested in, contact our Dallas divorce attorneys to learn more about how we make divorce easier for our clients.

Reasons to Choose a Collaborative Divorce

There are several emotional benefits to a collaborative divorce, but the top three, according to clients who have successfully undergone a collaborative divorce, include:

• Privacy: For many individuals - especially high-profile individuals - a long-drawn out courthouse divorce can become public fairly quickly. From private financial details to embarrassing personal shortcomings, a courthouse divorce allows all dirty laundry to be aired to the public. Fortunately, a collaborative divorce does not take place in a public forum such as a courthouse, but rather goes down within the safe confines of a private conference room.
• Respect: Sadly, most divorces come down to each spouse trying to prove to the judge why they are 'better' or 'more worthy' than the other spouse, and how they were ultimately wronged by the other spouse throughout the marriage. This involves a lot of name calling and cutting down of the other individual, which can be very detrimental to each spouse's emotional well-being. A collaborative divorce, on the other hand, allows the two parties to approach the divorce as a team, and to attack the issues at hand, not one another.
• Efficiency: According to the Huffington Post, the average divorce cost of legal fees in a Dallas contested divorce is roughly $15,000. Unfortunately, even at that price, most people do not 'win' in divorce. Whether the couple has just filed for a petition for divorce or they have already spent thousands of dollars and several years battling in court, the majority of divorces settle. When this happens, all of that time, money, and energy spent trying to one-up each other is essentially wasted.

In a Texas collaborative divorce, the attorneys are barred from engaging in any contested court proceedings, and focus all of their time, energy, and resources on helping their clients resolve their issues in the most amicable and efficient way possible.

A Dallas collaborative divorce is the way to go, especially if there are children involved. Maintaining respect for your former spouse is extremely important in helping your child maintain a strong relationship with their other parent, not to mention the good it will do for their emotional well-being. Divorce is just as hard - if not harder - on the children than it is on the parents, so before filing for a traditional divorce, consider how much a collaborative divorce will help your child cope with the new changes in his or her life.

Consider a Dallas, Texas Collaborative Divorce

Because of how effective a collaborative divorce can be and because of the emotional benefits of a collaborative divorce, Texas has officially recognized collaborative divorce as a public policy, and has given it its own section within the Texas Family Code. To learn more about what a Texas collaborative divorce means for Texas families, refer to the Texas Family Code, 15.001.

If you and your spouse just want to dissolve your marriage without any of the drama and turmoil of a traditional divorce, contact the Dallas divorce attorneys at the Clark Law Group at 469-906-2266 today.

(image courtesy of Mary R. Vogt)