If you want to use a collaborative divorce for any reason — the freedom to make decisions, the way that it can speed up the process, the options you have to save money, etc — you need to remember that the whole thing revolves around honesty. You and your spouse must be open and honest every step of the way.
For instance, a collaborative divorce allows you to talk about how you want to divide assets. That’s helpful and keeps a judge from doing it for you. But that also means you both have to be totally honest about what assets you own. You can’t intentionally overlook items or try to hide things.
Remember that both spouses are not always involved in the same areas of life. Your spouse may know about the assets you have in the home and the money you have in the bank, but maybe you handle the investing. Your spouse knows that you’ve been investing, but does not know how much stock you own, where you buy it or how much it is worth.
Some people are tempted to try to take advantage of a situation like that, but thinking that way can make collaborative divorce impossible. If you or your spouse cannot be honest and open, you may have no choice but to go in front of a judge so that they can take charge of the situation. If you want this alternative to work, you need to be committed to doing it the right way.
As you look into your divorce options, it’s worth investigating everything and deciding what will be best regarding your relationship and the outcome you want.
