Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Divorce Solutions?
Divorce Solutions is a network of qualified professionals who can help families to negotiate non-adversarial divorces.
Divorce Solutions holds regular seminars to help you work through your financial, legal and emotional needs and connect you with lawyers, financial planners and counsellors who recognise these needs and are willing to cooperate to help you resolve your divorce out of court.
2. What is Collaborative Law?
Collaborative law is a non-adversarial process for achieving a fast and fair divorce settlement for both parties that concentrates on maintaining an amicable relationship between divorcing couples and their children.
Under collaborative law:
- divorcing couples and their attorneys agree to settle the divorce out of court
- each party engages a team of divorce professionals including lawyers, financial advisors and counsellors who work together to reach an agreement
- if the process fails, both parties' teams have to withdraw
3. Who is involved?
Under collaborative law, both divorcing parties agree to settle out of court. Both parties then engage a team of professionals including a lawyer, financial advisor and a counsellor to assist in the negotiations.
4. How is Divorce Solutions different?
Divorce Solutions was established to take the adversary out of divorce, providing faster and better outcomes for both parents and children.
Teams of professionals represent each party and work together to ensure the divorce doesn’t go to court.
Everyone is working toward the same goals - a fast and fair divorce settlement for both parties while maintaining an amicable relationship between divorcing couples and their children.
5. What happens if we can’t agree?
If the collaborative law process fails and the couple can’t reach settlement, the legal and financial teams as well as the counsellors for both parties have to withdraw from the process.
6. Is this process worthwhile even if we don't have children?
There are many advantages of collaborative law for couples who don’t have children.
The breakdown of a relationship is often traumatic and can affect your personal life, your work, your relationships, your friendships and your financial stability.
Under collaborative law, you work with a team of professionals including counsellors who help you deal with the emotional issues of your divorce.
Because it is non-adversarial, the financial burden of a drawn-out legal process is reduced, as is emotional distress and the strain on relationships.
By keeping your divorce out of court, collaborative law helps you retain your dignity, privacy and reputation.
7. What if my partner doesn’t agree to try collaborative law, can I still use Divorce Solutions?
No, for the collaborative law process to work, both divorcing parties have to agree to settle out of court.
8. How long will it take?
Going to court to resolve your divorce can take up to two years. Settling a divorce using collaborative law however takes on average about 90 days.
9. Does it cost more?
The collaborative law approach to divorce generally costs less than going to court to settle a divorce.
