Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Amicable Divorce Attorney

resolution

Oct 05

Who Should You Include in a Collaborative Divorce Team?

The average cost of a divorce in the United States is between $15,000 and $20,000. It can be less expensive both financially and emotionally when you and your spouse are committed to working out your issues to benefit all members of the family in a collaborative divorce. To make this possible, it’s a good idea to gather a collaborative divorce team to support you through the process.

Who Makes Up Your Collaborative Divorce Team?

Your collaborative divorce team is composed of several professionals who work together to help you and your spouse reach positive outcomes on the issues that remain to be resolved. They focus on the interests of all members of the family and work towards a solution that is satisfactory to both spouses and that protects the best interests of the children. These professionals can include:

  • Each spouse’s divorce lawyer
  • A collaborative financial professional who can explain all aspects of the couple’s finances and the consequences of financial decisions
  • A divorce coach to help spouses learn to communicate and negotiate amicably
  • A mental health professional who specializes in family issues and child development

Why Is a Collaborative Divorce Team Important?

As with any process, your support team is vital for success. In a collaborative divorce, this team is made up of professionals who can help you understand the different areas that are relevant as well as help you find solutions to any issues that you’re facing. The team should be made up of professionals who are knowledgeable about and committed to the collaborative process. They can help you find ways to better communicate with your spouse, focus on the needs of the children, and understand your legal and financial situation.

The Divorcing Spouses and the Collaborative Divorce Team

Both spouses are also active members of the team. The collaborative divorce process allows them to keep control of the outcome as they work their way to solutions that they both approve of. While each spouse consults with their own divorce lawyer, they also work together with the other team members and with each other to find a way forward. They can be creative in resolving issues and can ask their team members for clarification and specific support. Team members can help spouses look at different options available to them to help them choose the one that best fits the needs of their family.

The Importance of a Financial Professional

The financial choices made during a divorce will impact each spouse’s life afterward. For this reason, a financial professional can help the spouses understand their own financial status during and after the divorce and explain the different options they have and the impact of each choice, including tax consequences. Finally, they can help each spouse financially plan for their post-divorce future, creating realistic budgets and evaluating their future financial needs.

Supporting the Family Through the Process

Legal and financial issues are not the only factors in a collaborative divorce. The emotional impact will have repercussions for years to come. To assist with this side of the process, spouses can work with a divorce coach who can help them learn methods of positive communication and conflict resolution and understand the family dynamics, including the triggers that might lead to conflict. A divorce coach can also help the couple develop a custody plan and provide tools as the family transitions into the new normal.

Similarly, when the couple has children, a mental health professional focused on child development can assist the parents in maintaining the interests of the children at the forefront of the process and help them focus on what outcomes they want as a family for the future. They may even be able to meet with the children independently to help them address any feelings that they’re having.

Finding the right lawyer who is committed to the collaborative process is important for the success of your divorce. Joanne Kleiner can answer your questions and guide you through the process. You can contact us at the Office of Joanne Kleiner in Jenkintown at 215-886-1266 to make an appointment for an initial consultation.

Aug 20

Mediation and Children’s Emotional Health

Divorce can be a contentious and emotionally fraught process that has a lasting impact on everyone. When there are children involved, the way that the parents interact during the divorce process can leave long-lasting emotional effects. Mediation can provide a way for parents to work towards resolving child custody, support, and other related issues in a more amicable way, modeling positive conflict resolution for their children and putting the children’s best interests first.

How Does Mediation Work?

Mediation works by having both parties to a divorce work with a neutral third party to resolve their issues and reach a divorce agreement. Both spouses can have their own divorce lawyer to support them, but the neutral third party listens to each side on the issues and helps them find a solution that both can agree on.

Even couples who might not get along very well, in general, can find it beneficial to have that third party present to listen and help as it can make the divorce process run its course faster, and it can also be less costly. Working together to resolve these issues instead of fighting in court can also reduce the tension between the parties. A faster and more peaceful resolution to the divorce is particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic when the tension in some households has risen so much that it ended in abuse. Resolving a divorce quickly and without acrimony can be particularly helpful when there are children involved who will be affected by their parents’ interactions during this period.

How Mediation Can Benefit Children in the Middle of a Divorce

Divorce is a highly emotional process for everyone involved. Parents might become so consumed in their battle with each other that they might not even perceive how their children are being affected by this and how these effects will have a long-lasting impact on their emotional health. However, when parents decide that mediation is the right path towards divorce, they will need to sit down together, put their emotional issues aside, and work towards finding a way forward. During mediation, parents not only discuss the division of property. They can resolve many issues including custody and visitation, parenting plans, child support, and tax issues related to the children.

With the support of the mediator and each parent’s respective divorce lawyer, parents can model more positive behavior towards conflict resolutions that show their children that divorce does not mean the end of the family and that, even as their marriage is ending, parents are thinking first of what is best for their children.

Helping Your Children During Divorce

The dissolution of marriage is a time where children can experience anger and grief as they face what can seem to them to be the end of their family. They might act out and struggle at home and in school during this period. There are many ways you can help your children cope through and after divorce. They need both parents actively involved in their lives. Working together through mediation to reach an agreement on child-related issues can show the children that both parents are committed to them even if their relationship with each other has ended. Through your support, your children can overcome the many challenges they encounter during this time. You can offer your children support through a variety of ways, including:

  • listening to their fears and concerns about the future
  • being patient with their own process of grief
  • providing routines and stability
  • modeling positive interactions between parents
  • encouraging and supporting the time the child spends with the other parent

If you are a parent who is getting divorced and would like to explore the option of mediation to resolve your issues, contact the Law Office of Joanne Kleiner for assistance. You can call us at 215-885-1266 to schedule an appointment in our Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, office.