Collaborative divorce is one of the newest methods of alternative dispute resolution in family law. And while many recognize the benefits of implementing cooperative techniques instead of adversarial strategies like litigation, many are unaware of some of its hidden benefits. Here are 3 secrets of collaborative divorce that everyone misses.

Privacy of a Confidential Forum

Unlike the public forum of a courtroom, the collaborative divorce process keeps all those family secrets and personal confidential information away from public scrutiny. That’s why many professionals like doctors and accountants are drawn to collaborative divorce. A messy public divorce can destroy a professional’s reputation, which can adversely affect future income. When a professional goes through a divorce, it’s critical to protect their professional image and reputation. Those who own businesses often turn to a collaborative divorce to keep financial details about their business from competitors. Keeping things quiet in a private forum just makes smart business sense. Plus, it keeps private information away from nosey neighbors, troublemakers and less-than-supportive relatives. With the increased privacy about your finances, personal habits and family issues, children are less likely to hear comments about their parents’ divorce from friends at school or reading about it in the newspaper.

Collaborative Team Professionals

With collaborative divorce, there is a team of professionals all working together on your behalf. Each spouse has his or her own attorney. There is also a team that includes a neutral financial specialist, neutral child specialist and a coach. All members of the team cooperate with other collaborative team members. Financial specialists help create options for the division of assets and liabilities and help resolve areas of conflict surrounding financial matters. Child specialists work with parents to develop a constructive parenting plan and give feedback to the parents and professional team members about the children’s needs. The coaches help spouses manage their emotions and monitor the pace of the process. Each party’s attorney shares power with all the other professional team members and works with both clients and the other attorney. Collaborative divorce is a team effort with the shared goal to help clients reach clear, fair and sustainable agreements on the issues being addressed. Its defined structure can be adapted to the meet needs of each couple or family.

Both you and your spouse actively participate in building your team. You might even decide it’s best to forego the signing of a participation agreement so that your attorney can continue to represent you if your case ends up in court.

Collaborative Divorce Makes Financial Sense

A litigated divorce is a long, costly process. While it’s tough to know the exact cost of a litigated divorce, the cost can easily make it into the tens of thousands of dollars. And if you live near New York City or in New Jersey, you just may be facing fees into the six-figures. Once a divorce makes it into the court system, a litigated divorce can drag on and take even over a year to resolve. During this period, court fees and attorney fees pile up. The financial benefits of collaborative divorce include a major reduction in court costs, reductions in attorney fees associated with going to court, such as appearances, discovery and hearings, and fixed overall costs that assist with long-term budgeting.

Eliminating a court trial from the divorce process also removes others costs that result from having to be in court, including time off from work and the expense of child care. With a flexible collaborative divorce process, both spouses can work on their own schedule. The key is that the collaborative process is more flexible and conferences can be scheduled when convenient. The bottom line is that a flexible schedule helps both spouses save money. On average, most collaborative divorces are completed much faster than traditional divorces. Due to a much shorter overall process, you save money on the lawyer’s fees.

Privacy, professional teams and economic sense are just a few of the hallmarks of collaborative divorce that many don’t realize.