I JUST WANT WHAT IS FAIR UNDER THE LAW
This is very often the first thing that people going through divorce say to their attorney. Frequently, both parties agree with this statement and espouse it as their objective. So how can these same people find themselves in senseless battles within the court system, draining their lives and their finances?
– Fair is subjective by nature, meaning it is in the eyes of the beholder. Is it any mystery that two people who have decided to get divorced from one another would have different ideas about what is a fair deal?
– Domestic relations laws differ from state to state. Even within the same state, the laws can be applied in different ways depending upon the county in which you live or the courtroom in which you find yourself. The law can inform us about what may be considered fair, but what law applies to you is random depending upon the place where you live and when your case is being heard.
– The law may not reflect what is important to you or to your family.
Experienced divorce attorneys generally give advice about the range of possible outcomes under the law, but in litigation it=s impossible to know what information about the law, if any, your spouse is being given. In a Collaborative Divorce, the same information about the law is generally given to both parties together by both counsel, and any differences of opinion are discussed openly. In this manner, clients set similar and reasonable expectations for outcome and are empowered to make informed choices. In a Collaborative Divorce, the end objective is not to rigidly apply law or to attempt to define Afair,@ but to work together to seek mutually acceptable resolutions that incorporate benefits for each party.
