“Kitchen Table Negotiation”

The spouses negotiate the terms of their own divorce settlement. The parties can either fill out the Dissolution Agreement form provided by the court on their own (not recommended) or one party can hire an attorney to prepare the agreement and the other documents needed to finalize the divorce. The divorce agreement is a final, binding legal document so each party should get legal advice before signing the agreement and submitting it to the court. Frequently called “uncontested divorce”, the judge reviews and approves the written agreement and makes it a court order.

Divorce Mediation

A single neutral professional acts as the mediator for the couple, helping them to negotiate an agreement. The mediator helps the couple reach agreement, and complete the required paperwork. Mediators do not give legal advice. Each party should retain attorneys as “coaching counsel” for legal advice on specific issues and the final agreement. No one should finalize the divorce without legal advice and review. Divorce mediators may be lawyers, financial professionals or mental health professionals depending on the issues the family needs to deal with.

Collaborative Divorce

Each spouse retains his or her own trained collaborative lawyer to advise and assist in negotiating an agreement on all issues and the preparation of the required paperwork. A divorce financial professional assists by providing financial information. Mental health professional mediate parenting and any emotional issues. Everyone signs an agreement that the lawyers and spouses cannot go to court or threaten to go to court and the financial professional cannot participate in any subsequent litigation. Each client has built-in legal advice and advocacy during negotiations, and each lawyer’s job includes guiding the client toward reasonable resolutions. If no agreement is signed disqualifying the attorneys if the process fails, this process is called a “cooperative divorce”.

Adversarial Divorce

Each spouse retains his or her own lawyer to represent him or her throughout the divorce process. All lawyer efforts are aimed primarily at preparing for trial,
including use of formal discovery and/or temporary motions in most cases, while at the same time trying to negotiate a settlement. Settlement usually results by the time of trial but, throughout the process, the spouses are generally discouraged from negotiating with each other. When there is no settlement of temporary or permanent issues, the judge enters court orders resolving the disputes after an evidentiary hearing including testimony of witnesses and introduction of documentary evidence.