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What is a collaborative divorce?
By Jeff Wilford
What's a collaborative divorce? The process of settling your divorce without the help of a judge starts with a judge's order. For people to pursue a collaborative divorce, a judge or family court commissioner must first sign off on it.
What they sign is an order for collaborative divorce. The order spells out what the parties to the divorce agree to do. Mostly, they and their attorneys agree to work together, not against each other, to negotiate a settlement. They agree not to litigate their divorce in court and, if it actually comes to that, that their attorneys will withdraw.
Other terms of the order for collaborative divorce include: * The parties agree not to tamper with their finances. That includes borrowing against or changing any insurance policies, or incurring any debts that the other may be responsible for. They agree not to make any "extraordinary" expenditures without notifying the other at least five business in advance.
* They agree to give each other information on request, or permission to get the information. The court will not order anybody to turn over anything as long as the collaborative agreement is in place.
The whole idea is to avoid situations where one person tries to hide assets from the other in a divorce; or where both sides fight over what those assets really are, said Diane Diell, a Hales Corners attorney specializing in collaborative divorce.
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