Divorce process options in Kansas City include two excellent ways to get a divorce without going to court. Divorce mediation and collaborative divorce offer a valuable alternative to contested divorce, which can be an overwhelming experience fraught with fear, hurt feelings, and anger that make an agreeable resolution difficult, if not impossible.
Divorce Process Options In Kansas City: Divorce Mediation
In divorce mediation, you and your spouse use a neutral third party to assist you in reaching agreements that meet your needs and the needs of your children without going to court. The mediator does not have to be a lawyer and does not represent either party. Even if the mediator is a lawyer, they cannot offer legal advice in their role as mediator, and they will not tell you what to do. The divorcing couple communicates with each other directly, in the presence of the mediator, and decides together what information to review and what outside experts to involve.
The mediator will explain the divorce process and guide a discussion to help resolve issues. The mediator cannot decide anything for the divorcing spouses – the parties themselves will make all decisions and agreements. The mediator will help to identify issues, help you and your spouse negotiate, and work with you to resolve all of the issues in your divorce case such as division of marital property and debts, spousal support, child support, and parenting plans.
Divorce mediation can be used either as the only conflict resolution approach or in conjunction with the collaborative process to resolve specific issues that would be left to a judge in a contested divorce.
Divorce Process Options In Kansas City: Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative divorce is a unique alternative to the traditional adversarial contested divorce process. It is designed to provide maximum support and resources for divorcing couples in reaching a mutually acceptable resolution of all the issues associated with a divorce and the resulting life changes. A fundamental goal of collaborative divorce is that the needs of both spouses and minor children are heard, understood, and considered with respect.
In the collaborative process, a team of professionals addresses the legal, financial, and emotional needs of each spouse. Using professionals who have specific expertise provides an efficient, effective, and generally more affordable divorce process. You and your spouse each retain your own family law attorney trained in the collaborative process to provide counsel, legal advice, assistance in reaching an agreement, and to draft the necessary documents to reflect your agreements needed to initiate and conclude the legal divorce.
You and your spouse will also jointly retain a collaborative neutral financial specialist and a collaborative neutral coach who will work with you to gather the information needed to reach a mutually acceptable divorce agreement as effectively, efficiently, and affordably as possible.
For more information about divorce process options in Kansas City, contact a Collaborative Practice team member at 913-380-2560 or click here.
