Collaborative Divorce Lawyers in Maine

A collaborative divorce is one where each spouse commits to settling the main issues without the need for litigation or a courtroom trial and where there is no “winner” or “loser”.

In a collaborative divorce in Maine, mutually acceptable terms for property division, spousal support, custody/parenting, and child support are negotiated and agreed upon. Then documentation is prepared and the only involvement of a judge is usually to approve the agreement.

With a collaborative process between respective divorce lawyers, the spouses aim to troubleshoot, solve differences, and avoid disputes. In doing so, they maintain control of the final decision-making rather than asking a judge to decide based on the evidence provided.

In pursuing a collaborative divorce, the parties agree not to litigate. If litigation does, however, result, the spouses will need to find new divorce litigation lawyers to represent them.

Couples who want to pursue a collaborative divorce need to have the mindset that they are troubleshooting to solve a problem. In a collaborative divorce, the focus is not on fighting and arguing. Couples should not view the outcome of divorce as winning or losing, but as reaching a resolution that works for everyone.

In a collaborative divorce, two spouses and their respective attorneys legally agree to keep the case out of court. Your Maine family attorney is still there to help you understand your rights, and you will want to ensure that your attorney is supportive of and experienced in collaborative divorces.

In fact, if the collaborative process is not successful, your attorney will need to withdraw, and you and your spouse will need to start from scratch with new representation and litigation. This is a costly consequence meant to encourage resolution whenever possible. 

Through a collaborative divorce, you can come to agreements on several challenging issues such as:

• Spousal support
• Division of Assets
• Child custody
• Child support

Once you and your spouse have agreed on these issues and any others, your attorney can file your agreement in court. As an uncontested filing, it is usually a simple process. 

When both spouses are willing to negotiate, a collaborative divorce may be the best way to reach a divorce agreement. It only works if both parties are prepared to sit down and discuss terms but the benefits can be considerable.

Following are the main “pros” of a collaborative divorce:

The traditional divorce process involves either a do-it-yourself-settlement, a mediated solution or litigation. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Collaborative divorce lawyers can provide legal advice and support as required, with each spouse hiring a lawyer to represent their interests. Hiring may be coordinated between the spouses or each spouse may appoint a lawyer separately, ensuring that there are no conflicts of interest.

A mediator is not permitted to provide legal advice and can only facilitate an agreement — which is not always possible.

Collaborative divorces are a good solution to prevent litigation and a trial (if mediation does not work) as collaborative divorce attorneys are trained in interest-based conflict resolution to reach common ground and avoid disputes.

Collaborative divorce in Maine usually follows this basic process:

• Each spouse hires an attorney: when selecting a collaborative divorce lawyer, ensure that they meet your required approach for negotiation and finding common ground. An attorney who specializes in divorce litigation may not be a good candidate.
• The spouses and attorneys sign a “no court” agreement: both attorneys will need to withdraw from the case if litigation is later required.
• The first meeting is usually a private one with your lawyer, where you discuss your ideal outcome, preferences and limits during the negotiation process. It is important to communicate this to your attorney before the process starts.
• You and your attorney then meet with your spouse and attorney in a series of several meetings. Other professionals like child custody specialists and accountants may be required to assist. These third-party individuals must be neutral and only offer a professional opinion to try to settle your divorce without court intervention.
• Once an acceptable settlement agreement has been reached, your lawyers will prepare the documentation and contact a family or domestic relations court in Maine to file your divorce papers and agreement. Being a collaborative divorce, this should be simple and is treated as an “uncontested” procedure.
• A judge will review your documents and, if everything is in order, sign the divorce decree and declare you as legally divorced.

In most cases, the collaborative divorce process takes at least a few months. Matters are generally not decided in a single meeting and, for large and complex marital estates with children, multiple meetings between spouses and attorneys are usually required.

Try to stay patient as the process works towards a satisfactory outcome for all parties. However long a collaborative divorce takes, it is likely to be much quicker than litigation.