Washington Collaborative Divorce Lawyer in Kirkland

Skilled in the Art of Conflict Resolution

The Kirkland, Washington collaborative divorce lawyers at Truce Law can help you file for divorce without the need to go to court. The collaborative divorce process involves negotiating your divorce settlement outside of court. It is a way to file for divorce that allows you to avoid court dates and costly court battles. When you choose the collaborative divorce process in Kirkland, Washington, you can settle your divorce without the need to step foot inside a courtroom. Truce Law can file your divorce papers by mail or electronically.

With traditional divorce, your lawyer will prepare your case for trial, whether you end up at court or not. The reality is that most divorce cases are settled outside of court, either because a judge orders mediation or because the couple is sent to the negotiation table. With collaborative divorce, you begin where they end up. Truce Law uses conflict resolution strategies and helps build a strong collaborative divorce team from the start. Many crucial decisions must be made during the divorce process, including decisions about how to divide property, debts, and assets. Child custody decisions must also be made if you have children. The collaborative divorce process allows you and your former partner to address key issues, look at your legal options, and find solutions through compromise and collaboration.  

The Kirkland, Washington collaborative divorce lawyers at Truce Law are skilled in the art of conflict resolution. If you don’t want a costly court battle, want to finalize your divorce as quickly as possible, and want a peaceful resolution to your divorce, call a truce, call Truce Law.

Leslie E. Beauregard, Attorney

What is Collaborative Divorce in Kirkland, Washington?

With collaborative divorce, both parties agree ahead of time to settle their differences outside of court, rather than fight their case in the courtroom. Before you begin the collaborative divorce process, you and your partner will sign a “collaborative participation agreement.” In some ways, the collaborative divorce process is like the traditional divorce process. Both you and your former partner will each hire your own collaborative lawyer to represent your interests. With the collaborative divorce process, your attorneys can advise you about your rights and options, while also helping you find a path of compromise and settlement. Ultimately, any divorce will involve some give and take. Unlike a court battle, where both parties go to court to win it all, and each divorce lawyer views the other party as the opposition, with collaborative divorce both parties work together to reach a compromise and resolution. Instead of you vs. them it’s a group effort to solve a problem.

Once you sit down at the negotiating table, your collaborative divorce lawyers can take a closer look at some of the key concerns. If you agree about most aspects of your divorce, your collaborative divorce lawyers can look everything over, help you understand your rights, and make sure that one or both parties aren’t giving up important rights or options. Your attorneys can help you formalize your agreement in the form of a divorce settlement. If you have major assets like homes or retirement accounts, your collaborative divorce team might include accountants, financial planners, or even forensic accountants, to help you differentiate marital assets from separate assets and make sound decisions about how to divide your finances. If you have concerns about your parenting plan, counselors and parenting coaches can be brought to the table to help you become better co-parents and find creative parenting solutions to help you adjust from married cohabitation to separate lives and shared childrearing.

Think of the collaborative divorce process as building a sound foundation for your future. You and your partner have worked hard to build a life together. Unwinding the braid of a marriage is a delicate process. The collaborative divorce process does this carefully and gently rather than taking out the shears. The collaborative process can help you re-envision your retirement plans, plan financially for single life, and learn how to cooperate and collaborate as co-parents to your children.

The aim is that you’ll both leave the negotiating table feeling that the resolution reached was fair. If you need to make child custody decisions, the goal is to formalize these choices in a parenting plan you both can abide by. Research indicates that children do better psychologically and emotionally when their parents aren’t fighting and when parents can work together even when they live apart to provide their children with the emotional, physical, and psychological nurturing they need. The collaborative divorce lawyers in Kirkland, Washington at Truce Law understand how challenging getting divorced can be. We bring conflict resolution strategies to the table and work to build a team that can help you and your former spouse move forward in a way that is best for your children and family.

High Net-Worth Collaborative Divorce in Kirkland, Washington

If you are a high net-worth family or individual, you may be wondering whether a collaborative divorce in Kirkland, Washington is right for you. The short answer is, likely yes. Not only does the collaborative divorce process save you the resources of having to pay lawyers to fight your case in court, but it also gives you access to the same tools and strategies to value assets, disclose financial information, and distinguish between marital property and separate property that you’d use in court. But rather than have the courts order that you use these tools, you can proactively use them in a setting that encourages peaceful negotiation and compromise.

The added benefit of collaborative divorce is privacy. Unlike litigation, where sensitive financial information can become part of the public record, collaborative divorce keeps this information private and keeps information about your divorce settlement private. If you don’t want the public knowing about your investments, your bank accounts, your property, or your trusts, a collaborative divorce can protect this sensitive information. The only parties that will know this information are your divorce attorneys, the financial professionals you hire, and you and your former spouse.

Major disputes can arise with high net-worth divorce, but even the most challenging disputes can often be resolved through the collaborative divorce process. For example, if you are concerned that your partner might be hiding assets or are unsure about the value of certain properties, like a business, or overseas accounts, the collaborative divorce process can bring in financial planners, accountants, and even forensic accountants to help you take stock. During the collaborative divorce process, both parties provide sworn statements about their financial situation. But if you think the information being provided is incorrect, litigation alone may not help. A judge isn’t a forensic accountant. With the collaborative divorce process, you can hire a forensic accountant, gain a greater understanding of your financial picture, and make decisions at the negotiating table.

The collaborative divorce lawyers in Kirkland, Washington at Truce Law can help high net-worth couples reach consensus and compromise regarding their financial situation. If you have a prenuptial agreement, we can bring this to the negotiating table to help you resolve your divorce in accordance with the agreement you made before you were married. The collaborative divorce process is transparent, clear-cut, and can often result in a faster resolution for your divorce. In fact, Truce Law can file your divorce paperwork by mail or electronically, eliminating the need for you to even appear in court.

Benefits of Collaborative Divorce in Kirkland, Washington

There are many benefits of choosing the collaborative divorce process in Kirkland, Washington. When you choose collaborative divorce, we can save you and your former partner time, money, and protect your privacy. You can also reduce stress by choosing a process that uses conflict reduction strategies rather than conflict building strategies. Truce Law is a collaborative divorce law firm in Kirkland, Washington that strives to build consensus and peaceful resolutions. Here are some key benefits of collaborative divorce:

• Collaborative Divorce Can Save You Money. When divorce lawyers help their clients, they build a case for trial. This can involve many more billable hours, time spent fighting in court, and time spent in mediation if a judge still wants you to resolve your differences outside court. The collaborative divorce process begins where traditional divorce often ends up—at the negotiating table. You can save your family thousands, by choosing to work out your differences in private rather than in court.
• Collaborative Divorce Can Save You Time. If you go to court, you’ll have to wait until the court has time to hear your case. With collaborative divorce in Kirkland, Washington, you set your own timeline.
• Collaborative Divorce Can Protect Your Privacy. If you get into a heated debate in court and share details about your private life, this will end up on the public record. If you get into a heated argument during the collaborative divorce process and say something you regret, you can just call a time out. The only thing you’ll submit to the court is your divorce agreement, nothing else.
• Collaborative Divorce Can Protect Your Children. When couples cannot craft a parenting plan, they run the risk that a judge will make decisions neither parent wants. Parents who cannot agree about a parenting plan are more likely to fight and have difficulties co-parenting. By choosing the collaborative divorce process in Kirkland, Washington, your collaborative divorce lawyer will use conflict resolution strategies and negotiation techniques to help you and your former partner reach an agreement that works for you and your family. Shifting from marital cohabitation to separate co-parenting can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone. Your collaborative divorce team can include parenting coaches, counselors, and more who can help you on your path.
• Less Anger; Less Stress. Litigation is stressful. Going to court puts you and your former partner against one another. With the collaborative divorce process, you work together to find solutions to your problems. The hope is that you’ll leave the negotiating table with understanding, respect, and if you have children, with a sound coparenting plan.

These are just some of the ways that the collaborative divorce process can benefit you and your family. Truce Law is a collaborative divorce law firm in Kirkland, Washington that is here to help you reach a peaceful divorce settlement. When you choose collaborative divorce, you don’t even need to step foot in court. Truce Law can file your divorce paperwork electronically or by mail. Choose the easier path. Call a truce. Call Truce Law.