You may not know it, but there are several ways to get a divorce in the United States, several alternatives on how to move when you’re considering getting one.
These alternatives are the Do-It-Yourself one, the Mediation one, The Collaborative one, and the Litigation one.
So, without further ado, let’s see what each one of these alternatives consists of.
Do-It-Yourself
Being that divorce is one of the most complicated things in this world, this may actually not be the best option.
This to say that to get a divorce, you will need to have a lot of different aspects perfectly figured out: the financial one, the legal one, the ones about the custody of possible children, and the separation of possible properties in common.
The only case in which the Do-It-Yourself option is feasible is the one where the marriage was very brief, hasn’t resulted in the birth of children, there are little to no properties to divide between the two, and the incomes of the two partners are almost the same.
But, even in this case, it’s best to have two attorneys have a look at the documents prepared in a DIY way, before putting actual signatures on them.
Mediation
If you choose this option, what will happen is that you will turn to a neutral mediator who is an expert in family law, to help you and your partner come to the best agreement possible without having to go to court.
Each party will still need to refer to their personal attorney before signing the final documents.
The good that can come from the Mediation option is, of course, the chance of a possible peaceful resolution of the marriage, without the significant distress given by the case going to court, and the possibility to pay significantly less for the whole procedure.
On the other hand, it is possible that, if the mediation fails, all money spent on it will be lost and you and your partner will have to start it all over again in a different way. The mediation can also result in a bad agreement, or in one that doesn’t cover all of the needed legal aspects of the situation and could be, as a consequence, possibly reversed in court in the future.
Collaborative
In the Collaborative divorce case, each partner hires a divorce attorney to help them reach an agreement with the other partner, without having to go to court.
As with the Mediation option, this could result, in the best-case scenario, in a lot less distress for all parties involved, and in less money spent on the procedure.
But, as for the Mediation option, this may also result in nothing, and in expenses paid for nothing. Or, it could result in one of the two partners hiding assets or properties during the procedure in order not to have those involved in the asset division process, making the Collaborative divorce result in an unjust separation of properties.
Litigation
This is the most common option.
While not all Litigation cases end up in court, this can be a threat to be pulled out by the divorce attorneys of the two parties involved when difficulties come up during the agreement-reaching process.
If the case ends up in court, it will be up to the judge to decide about everything, including alimony and children’s custody, and this may not be the best option, given that said judge knows nothing about the couple getting a divorce and their family situation.
In conclusion, if the two parties are collaborative and ready to fully disclose every asset of theirs, then the Mediation or the Collaborative option may be good choices for them.
If not, sadly, the Litigation option may be the only possible one to turn to.