How Popular Is Collaborative Divorce in Atlanta?

If you’re interested in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) when resolving your divorce, you have various options. These include arbitration, mediation, and collaborative law. Compared to arbitration and mediation, spouses might not have heard much about collaborative law. How popular is this option? Is it the right choice for you? To answer these questions, consider speaking with an experienced collaborative law attorney in Atlanta.

Collaborative Divorce Is Quickly Growing in Popularity 

Although mediation and arbitration are popular, collaborative law is a newer approach that spouses are increasingly selecting when resolving their divorces. Although the exact figures are not clear, countless family law attorneys in North America now offer to help spouses navigate this ADR method.

Another often-repeated statistic is the fact that collaborative law has a success rate of over 90%. In other words, only one out of ten couples fails to resolve their divorces through collaborative law.

Why Is Collaborative Divorce Popular?

Perhaps the most important question of all is not how popular collaborative divorce is, but why so many spouses choose this approach. Many of its benefits are shared by arbitration and mediation, such as lower costs, less stress, faster timelines, and confidentiality.

So why might a couple choose collaborative divorce over the other two options? The thing that really sets collaborative law apart from mediation and arbitration is the presence of two sets of attorneys. In contrast, arbitration and mediation only involve a single “referee” to oversee the negotiation process.

Spouses appreciate the ability to bring their own legal counsel to the negotiation table. With this approach, each spouse believes that there is at least one attorney who is advocating for their best interests. In contrast, spouses may fear bias or unfairness when dealing with a single arbitrator or mediator.

If you ever encounter an issue that you feel unsure about, you can turn to your lawyer for clarification and personalized guidance. Your lawyer can negotiate on your behalf and tell you whether to accept or reject certain terms. In contrast, a mediator or arbitrator might encourage you to accept terms to simply wrap up the negotiation process.

That being said, collaborative law does not pit spouses against each other. Although each spouse might represent their respective client’s best interests, they also encourage both parties to work together. The clue is in the name: Collaborative law succeeds when both spouses collaborate toward mutual best interests.

Aside from encouraging spouses to collaborate, each collaborative law attorney also works with their counterpart on the other side of the negotiation table. Attorneys understand that the goal is not to score points in a courtroom, but rather to guide spouses through the divorce with minimal stress and long-term issues.

Can an Atlanta Collaborative Law Attorney Help Me? 

If you’d like to learn more about collaborative law in Atlanta, consider speaking with an experienced family law attorney. In particular, you should consider speaking with an attorney who has experience with collaborative divorce. Continue this conversation with Buckhead Family Law, a firm with considerable experience in collaborative law.

Source: 

americanbar.org/groups/dispute_resolution/resources/overview/