Collaborative Divorce is essentially a pre-court agreement to mediation where you and your spouse agree  you want a divorce, but want to engage in a process where all the issues are addressed privately and without litigation. A successful Collaborative Divorce results in an agreement as to property, children, maintenance and support that is then filed with the court, and is less toxic, less expensive, and faster than a contested and litigated divorce proceeding in court.

In Collaborative Divorce each spouse's attorney agrees in advance to recuse themselves if the collaborative process is not successful. This critical element removes an attorney's incentive to drive up fees through scorched earth litigation. In other words, the structure itself creates a probability that all parties and their counsel will work in good faith to result in a fair agreement.

Why we encourage a collaborative approach to divorce

Lessons from parents' divorce and those of close relatives have shown clearly that divorce has long term consequences, including following generations.  Efforts must be made to reduce the trauma of a family's breakup. Collaborative Divorce, and encouraging clients to consider the guidance of clergy and social workers, may help avoid the failure of families to survive in a healthy manner we have all watched in daytime television. Our hope for Collaborative Divorce is to try to use the lessons of the past generation's explosion of divorces to make a necessary marital breakup not cause as much harm to your life and those of of your children's and future grandchildren's lives. 

We know family law courts extremely well from decades of divorce litigation experience and will therefore advise you what would probably happen if you  - or your spouse - might later think about abandoning the collaborative divorce process and go to court. With this background, we can tell you what that decision would likely cost in legal fees, anxiety, time and judicial decisions. In general it is far cheaper to go through collaborative divorce than litigating a divorce in court.

All Collaborative Divorce attorneys at Law Office of Jeffrey J. Antonelli, Ltd. have completed both a 40 hour mediation course and specialized training from the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois. We encourage clients to consider using clergy and psychosocial professionals when helpful alongside our attorneys for a truly collaborative solution.

Please contact us for a free personalized consultation to learn if Collaborative Divorce is right for you.