Warming Your Spouse Up to the Idea of Collaborative Divorce

When you’re facing a divorce and would like to go through it as amicably as possible, collaborative divorce is a great option to consider. It costs less, avoids potentially nasty litigation, and allows both parties to move on with their lives sooner. The most important factor that make collaborative divorce an amicable solution, however, is that both individuals agree to handle the divorce in this way.

At this time Natalie is offering mediation services only

So, if you know you’d like to divorce collaboratively, how do you get your spouse on board? While you should not think of it as a winning vs. losing proposition in which you must convince them to choose your side, you should share with them some important information about collaborative divorce and hopefully they will recognize that it’s the best solution for you both.

“The Talk”

Every divorcing couple has “the talk” at some point during which they decide to end the marriage. While every “talk” looks a bit different, it serves as a great opportunity to begin exploring the options for what’s to come.

While you may not want to bring up your researched points about collaborative divorce right after the decision has been made, you should bring it up soon after so that you both can get on the same page early on in the process.

When the questions of “what’s next?” and “where do we go from here?” come up, it’s a good time to discuss the facts of collaborative divorce.

Collaborative Divorce Facts

Here are some great talking points to bring up with your spouse:

In a collaborative divorce, the couple works together to agree upon the settlement rather than leaving it in the court’s hands.
Most couples who chose this route report higher levels of satisfaction with their divorce.
It can be much less stressful without litigation.
There’s more control over the schedule and costs.
You speak for yourself vs. a lawyer speaking on your behalf.
The proceedings take place in the privacy of a small conference room.
It encourages healthy communication.
There’s a team of neutral experts there to help through tricky parts of the process.

If you present it properly, hopefully your spouse will understand why the collaborative divorce process is the right solution for you. When you’re ready to begin collaborating through a healthy divorce, contact the Tampa offices of Natalie Baird Mediations & Collaborative Divorce to get started.