Is Collaborative Divorce Worthwhile?

3Mar/100

NY, home to the worst matrimony laws in the country also has the most divorce scams. One of these is collaborative divorce. Collaborative divorce is a great concept BUT it ends up being an extremely expensive solution that requires you to write off a court option and use only a select group of collaborative specialists. In short, I think collaborative divorce is a waste of time and money, here's why.

First of all, the primary problem with divorce in NY is the costs. NY State Supreme Court Judges enforce obscene legal bills and the bills get this way by billing by the hour. In the NYC area the benchmark for fees is the about $400 an HOUR!. This is what NY State will throw you in jail for if you don't pay and this is what a judge will award the most retarded of lawyers. So in comes collaborative divorce, or any divorce professional for that matter, with the stage set by NY State at $400 an hour. At this rate, figure about $20,000 total on both sides to file and respond to a motion, $2000 every day in court, minimum, and $300,000 in total legal feels to have a very simple simple trial or settle if there are assets involved. So with this standard Collaborative may be cheaper if you can control yourselves and not spend the sessions fighting. But since sessions include an array of professionals, all getting paid by the hour, what are you gaining?

You don't have the stress of court but you have the costs. You don't have the fear of court but the reality is that while the courts yell and scream a lot, when you are divorced finally, they are done. Unless you or your spouse love running into court to prove the other this and that then these people are out of your lives. Same with Collaborative, they are out of your lives. If you can't negotiate the simple matters of dividing assets, with NY State laws that mandate division formulas, and time with your children based on your schedules then go to court. It is a real shame if you can't negotiate these simple things but if your relationship is so broken that you can't divide money and kids collaborative is going to suck all your money, just as a court process may, thus falling into the same problem as all court divorce - COST.

Hourly professional rates and NY Judges who enforce them are at the root of the problems of divorce in NY and collaborative does nothing to address this root problem. Hence I say avoid it and negotiate yourselves.