Collaborative divorce is designed to provide maximum support and resources for you and your family in reaching a mutually acceptable resolution of all the issues associated with a divorce and the resulting life changes. Built upon respect and open discussion, collaborative divorce is designed to make sure the needs of both spouses, and your children, are heard, considered, and understood.
Many factors that determine a child’s adjustment to divorce are beyond your control. But perhaps the single most important factor in determining how your children adjust to the divorce is something parents do control: how they interact with each other. Almost all divorcing couples will experience a certain amount of hostility toward each other during their divorce, and that conflict sometimes continues for a time following the divorce while the family adjusts to its new structure. When conflict continues for years, however, the negative consequences for the children can be profound.
The more intense the conflict between parents, the greater the potential for damage to children. Likewise, the longer conflict continues, the greater the risk of long-term negative effects on children. You and your ex-spouse may be raising children together for years to come, and working towards an effective co-parenting relationship from the moment you make the decision to divorce is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children.
The collaborative divorce process gives parents the opportunity to divorce in a way that will preserve that important part of their relationship that involves raising children. The collaborative divorce process brings a team of professionals together including a divorce coach/child specialist to help parents restructure their relationship in an environment that does not pit them against each other, but can instead help them create new, more effective ways to communicate and work together for the benefit of all concerned.
Using professionals who have specific expertise (legal, financial, co-parenting) provides an efficient, effective, and generally more affordable divorce process. You and your spouse each retain your own family law attorney who’s trained in the collaborative process to provide counsel, legal advice, assistance in reaching an agreement and to prepare the documents needed to initiate and conclude the legal divorce. You and your spouse also jointly retain a collaborative neutral financial specialist and a collaborative neutral divorce coach who work with you to gather the information needed to construct a mutually acceptable divorce agreement and parenting plan as effectively, efficiently and affordably as possible.
Research shows that one of the best predictors of a positive collaborative divorce process and outcome is the selection by divorcing spouses of collaborative professionals who respect each other, who have successful track records of settling cases together, and who work together effectively and efficiently so as to help you reach creative, respectful and thoughtful solutions. Members of the Collaborative Practice Kansas City group meet the standards for practice excellence as set by the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) and meet regularly to assure continued commitment to and practice of these standards.
To find out if collaborative divorce is right for your family, contact Collaborative Practice Kansas City at 913-380-2560 or click here.
