splitsville
The American Bar Association has
endorsed something called a "collaborative divorce." According to MSNBC, the approach "involves the use of attorneys for each party, often joined by other expert consultants." And, instead of lawyers snapping at each others' throats, they "pledge from the outset to work together in crafting an outcome that is fair to all." Sarah Smith, 47, says she and her ex-husband, David Boyle, were able to split up quickly and cheaply ($5,000) by doing a collaborative divorce. "It was definitely the way to go in our situation — we didn't have piles of anger about each other, and we also didn't have piles of money," says Smith. "Our main concern was the welfare of the kids." Avoiding the courtroom also avoids huge fees. Where $19,000 was the median cost for a collaborative divorce at one firm, it was $26,000 for settlements negotiated by rival lawyers, and a whopping $77,000 for full-scale litigation. (The cost for mediation was around $6,000).
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