What If I Cannot Afford a Collaborative Divorce in Orlando Florida?

One of the newer types of divorce alternatives that are available to divorcing couples is the collaborative law process. A collaborative divorce is one where the parties to the case agree that they will reach a settlement without going to court.

The collaborative agreement includes an attorney disqualification clause that declares that in the event that the parties are not able to reach a settlement that they would have to dismiss their current attorneys and retain different attorneys if they decide to go to court.

Each collaborative team usually will have a licensed attorney representing each side, a neutral expert financial professional to conduct full financial disclosure review of the financial components of the case, and a divorce coach or psychological expert who can assist with interest-based negotiation and recommendations as it relates to child custody matters and parenting plan development in addition to other possible experts based on the issues in the case.

As you can imagine paying the legal fees and retainer for all of these professionals can get quite pricey. How much does collaborative divorce cost? Additionally, at the end of the day, there is no guarantee that you will reach the settlement that you desire and would not have to ultimately go through the entire divorce litigation process after you have worked out and attempted the voluntary collaborative divorce process.

What are the alternatives to collaborative divorce in Orlando if I do not want a fight?

The collaborative divorce process is cost-prohibitive to a lot of people because it is not the affordable way to get divorced. However, a cost-effective alternative is to find an Orlando divorce lawyer who understands the value and importance of negotiating an uncontested divorce settlement rather than rushing to court in every case.

The truth is that in Florida divorce cases the parties are required to attend mandatory mediation in every case. Mediation is the process of getting the parties and their lawyers together at a neutral venue with a Florida supreme court certified mediator to facilitate settlement discussions and negotiate on behalf of their clients toward an amicable settlement to the case.

As a divorce law firm that places an emphasis on amicable settlements, we put a lot of thought and planning into the beginning stages of the case leading up to the mediation. How to prepare for mediation is critical. We believe that the absolute best approach in Central Florida and Orange County divorce cases is to put forth maximum effort to strategically work up the case in a way that provides the other party maximum incentive to want a settlement at mediation.

We understand that in the vast majority of cases it will be in our client’s best interest to reach an amicable resolution to their case rather than going to court. When comparing settlement vs trial, when there are minor children involved in the case it becomes even more important to work hard on a fair settlement because the contested litigation process can be very damaging to children. Children benefit from peaceful resolution and minimal child impact approaches.

It is only when all efforts at settlement have failed that we look toward the contested trial process where parties may need to testify, face cross-examination, and potentially appeal. Of course, the unfortunate fact is that even though we have a very high settlement rate, we cannot settle every single case and there are situations where going to court is something that must happen. Sometimes it has to happen really fast with emergency relief and expedited hearing requests.

One example is where a parent is being unreasonably restricted from seeing their children and needs immediate parental access protection. That is a very difficult situation to take through the collaborative divorce process. However, an experienced divorce advocate can “hit the ground running” by filing the right types of motions to protect parental rights and having the appropriate level of urgency in negotiating temporary and permanent time-sharing arrangements that are needed to get the time-sharing back on track where it needs to be, often at a less expensive and less time-consuming rate than the collaborative divorce process.

To be clear, we are strongly in favor of the expansion of the collaborative divorce process, however, we also understand that at this juncture collaborative divorce vs mediation and collaborative divorce vs litigation comparisons show that collaborative divorce is not financially feasible for everybody. Is collaborative divorce worth it? depends on your specific situation and divorce costs considerations.

The good news is that if you want a peaceful resolution to your case there are qualified attorneys who can help such as the client-centered team at Sean Smallwood, P.A. Our firm provides affordable representation with transparent pricing, payment plans available, and a free consultation to discuss your options.

How to choose a divorce lawyer is an important decision. If you are facing a divorce in Orlando Florida, then contact Sean Smallwood, P.A. today to discuss a strategy for obtaining a peaceful resolution to your situation where you control the outcome through cooperative negotiation rather than adversarial courtroom battle.

Sean Smallwood

Sean Smallwood is an Orlando divorce attorney for the law firm Sean Smallwood, Orlando Divorce & Family Law P.A. where he represents clients in all areas of family law and divorce. 100% of the practice is devoted to family law. As an attorney in Orlando, he has helped many families with a wide variety of family law cases including Divorce, Child Custody, Child Support, and many other issues.