Privacy is one of the greatest advantages of a collaborative divorce. In a collaborative divorce no petition is filed in the court, no financial affidavits or mandatory disclosure are filed and the court is not involved in the process until a settlement agreement is submitted for approval. Because the court is not involved in the process, no fees or costs are expended for preparing and filing motions, conducting hearings, preparing and serving subpoenas, scheduling and taking depositions, just to name only a few court-case related expenses.

Transparency is another advantage of collaborative divorce. The couple and all professionals associated with the divorce agree that all decisions will be made with the knowledge of all others. The person with easiest access to documents agrees to provide them, and all information is shared. No time, money or effort is spent on document requests and motions to compel production.

The parties have personal control over the divorce outcome, which is another major advantage of collaborative divorce. In a traditional divorce adjudicated by a judge, not only does a total stranger make decisions for the family’s future, all items within the divorce decree must meet narrowly defined criteria and are governed by legal guidelines. In a collaborative divorce, the couple has a great deal of freedom to craft a settlement that works best for their family.

Finally, a collaborative divorce is more expedient than a traditional divorce. The collaborative process focuses on reaching agreements on each issue of the divorce in a timely manner. For example, the matters of temporary support and temporary parenting plans can be decided at the first team meeting, and can be implemented smoothly from the outset. In a traditional divorce, resolution of these issues can be time-consuming and expensive.