What is Collaborative Divorce in Colorado?

We all know that going through the divorce phase can be challenging for both partners. Although most divorce cases do not rise to the extreme drama that we often see in primetime television; still, we cannot say that everyone can handle this scenario well. The situations often get emotionally wracking, expensive, and contentious.

The courts in Colorado, in most cases, encourage couples to resolve their conflicts together while going through a divorce. When both parties agree on the same point, the process gets comfortable. But in case if you both are not able to agree on the same terms for divorce, you may need to hire a mediator to facilitate the conversation.

What is collaborative divorce?

Collaborative divorce is basically a legal process that allows partners to negotiate on all terms and conditions of the divorce, without requiring to fight in court. Both parties can use a combination of negotiation and mediation to reach a joint agreement for divorce. The matter of concern here involves child support, child custody, debt division, spousal support, property division, and many more.

The process of collaborative divorce usually begins with a conversation between both parties to ensure that they are willing to work together in this process. In case if one party doesn’t wish to collaborate or negotiate, this idea won’t work. You can further take help from a divorce lawyer who can handle the disputes and present the case in front of the court if needed.

How can you go through the collaborative divorce process?

The experienced lawyers know well how to make a win-win settlement for couples. You can meet the attorney personally and discuss all the issues. Your conversation with the lawyer should also include details about how you wish to divide your assets including debts. The attorney can also assemble the collaborative divorce team which includes a child specialist, financial specialist, and divorce coach as well. These specialists can work well with you and your spouse while acting as joint specialists for the matter.

After talking to your spouse, you can further meet your partner and their attorney. If you are ready to proceed with a collaborative divorce, you can sign a no-court agreement with your partner. In this case, both parties are accountable for negotiation even if the conversation between them gets difficult. At subsequent four-way meetings, your professional teams may check the progress in your case. It must proceed ahead to the mutual settlement in the most convenient manner.

When you are proceeding ahead with collaborative divorce, it is important to make your spouse aware of your employment details, salary information, tax returns, and other assets and debts as well. Many people try to hide their financial assets during divorce but if your spouse comes to know about it at a later stage, the court can reopen your case to change the terms of the settlement. When you agree on the same terms during the divorce process, both parties need to sign a settlement agreement. The fair and reasonable judgment is later signed by the judge and it becomes the final settlement for your divorce.