Blog

Negotiated/Collaborative Divorce in Georgia – what you need to know….

Is a divorce in your future? Are you dreading months of hostile litigation, including depositions and brutal cross-examination, and public disclosure about your finances and personal life? Would you prefer to avoid expensive divorce litigation?

There is another way. Regardless of whether you are angry or even if you do not trust your spouse, you should consider a negotiated divorce within the guidelines of the Georgia’s collaborative divorce law system.

Collaborative divorce lawyers recognize that nobody wins when a divorcing husband and wife destroy each other financially and emotionally in a traditional divorce. Children, in particular, suffer terrible emotional and psychological damage as their home life disintegrates and they see their parents acting with malice and hatred.

Furthermore, judges and juries are completely unpredictable – does it really make sense to entrust your family and financial future to strangers who have met you at your lowest point?

A collaborative divorce brings into the picture impartial and experienced family counselors, financial planners and mediators to guide the divorcing parties to a negotiated solution. In addition, your lawyer and your spouse’s lawyer – both of whom must be trained and certified collaborative divorce lawyers – must pledge to avoid the pettiness and nastiness that often contaminates traditional divorce.

And because the issues in your collaborative divorce are discussed and negotiated out of court, a collaborative divorce can be much less expensive than traditional divorce.

Divorce is never going to be pleasant – after all, you are ending a marriage. But if you have made the difficult decision that a divorce is the right action for you, doesn’t it make sense to turn to experienced and trained professionals whose goal is not to destroy, but preserve finances, family relationships and your dignity?

Although Stittleburg Law Offices, LLC does not handle collaborative divorce cases, I can provide you with the names of some attorneys who do specialize in this field.

Which do you file first, the bankruptcy case or the divorce case? This is a question that comes up at times. There may be no simple answer but suffice it to say that if both parties have a lot of debt, it may be to their advantage to seek a bankruptcy discharge before heading to divorce court.

By filing for bankruptcy first, many of the questions as to who has to pay for what will be taken care of by the bankruptcy discharge order. If all of the unsecured joint and individual debt is eliminated by the bankruptcy, it may be easier to decide how the remaining assets, if there are any, should be divided. Also, if the parties have children and one or both are going to be facing child support, by eliminating all the debt, you free up funds to apply to the child support obligations.