Negotiating your divorce is never going to be easy, but the ‘collaborative’ approach to settlement can be quicker and less costly than you might expect. This approach prioritises the early provision of expert financial assessment and advice, which makes it significantly different to traditional combative and litigious proceedings.
Collaborative settlement is gaining momentum in family law and is proving to be a much cheaper option for divorcing couples, especially where the asset pool is not substantial. Here’s a summary of the benefits of this approach and how it can help you make the best of a difficult situation.
The major finding from a series of recent interviews conducted by Collins Mann with family law experts and divorced clients was that few divorcing couples are receiving good financial advice.
Many clients don’t understand that the long-term effects of their financial settlement can cause significant financial difficulties for both parties. Instead of asking themselves the most important question – How am I going to survive financially for the next five or ten years regardless of the outcome of the settlement? They tend to focus on the present and the extra few dollars here and there that they might be able to ‘win’ from their former partner. As a result, they tend to neglect working out the most effective financial strategy for their future.
What is needed …