Divorce is a very difficult process to go through, but some of your initial decisions can make a significant difference on how the process unfolds. As an Illinois divorce attorney, I have found one factor to be of great significance in any divorce.

This factor is the process by which you choose to divorce. Today, couples are taking the time to educate themselves about divorce and electing not to follow the traditional adversarial approach with which most of us are familiar. Instead, couples are looking to mediation and the collaborative process for a divorce.

Whether a couple chooses mediation or the collaborative process, they will complete the same steps but in a more amiable manner. As a collaborative attorney, I find couples are quick to choose the collaborative divorce process when they hear of its basic principles. These principles are avoiding court, having an honest exchange of information by both spouses, and taking into account the highest priorities of both spouses and their children. While the collaborative process is a reasonable approach based on these three principles, couples also gain the added benefits of a more economical and timely divorce.