There’s a cost to everything including separation. People who choose to divorce now face the high cost of financial turmoil usually associated to lengthy litigations during the divorce process. While prenuptial agreements have become the new normal, many still find it challenging to separate without some kind of financial burden.
There are many people out there who opt to simply stay with their partner because they can’t afford the divorce process. The transition from shared expenses to a fixed single income also puts financial strain on the newly divorced individual. Furthermore, the divorce process also put partners in an adversarial position which can severe the hopes of effective co-parenting when it’s all over.
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As the rate of divorce increase, experts have attempted to combat the issues associated to divorce. In 1992, a group of professionals which included lawyers, financial advisors, mental health professionals and family psychologists joined forces to create the collaborative practice group. They created a method for divorced which made various helping professional available for the client and each separating couple would also agree to settle out of court. The goal is to enable the clients with tools to collaborate on an agreement while attempting to preserve the parenting relationship if children are involved.
Joining the movement is a new group hoping to make divorce less terrible by offering a scalable network of mediators for couples who are separating instead of the tradition process of divorce. On July 7th, 2014, a group name “Wevorce” in the United Sates announced a $1.69 million raise in a public filing. Founder Michelle Crosby (pictured on the left) told New York Times she remembers a time when she was in a courtroom at 9 years old and a lawyer asked her: “If you had to be stranded on a desert island with one parent, which one would you choose?” She stated it was then that she knew the system was broken. According to Crosby, the average cost of divorce is $27,000 in legal fees and she aims to keep it at around $7500 for her clients. The Wevorce process is in every way detail oriented where couples create a divorce contract that could govern everything from a child’s diet to their curfew with the help of mediators.
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It’s certainly great to see options becoming available for people who are separating. Transition during the separation process emotionally, financially and psychologically can difficult enough that having to relieve the worst parts of your partner is probably not on the top of anyone’s list. Divorce will certainly not be pain free with these new methods but it may help in making it more manageable and realistic for both parties to walk away with enough to start over.
Amy Yew is a registered clinical counselor and relationship therapist. Tell us what you think and submit any questions you have to amyvancouvercourier@gmail.com. You can also tweet your thoughts on Twitter @AmyYew.
