3 options for a legal divorce in today’s world

It takes a special person to deal with divorce law. Perhaps the exact opposite of a minister or priest, a divorce attorney spends all day trying to untangle the complicated web of people's lives. Trying to decide what to do with houses, cars and money, not to mention pets and children can be taxing for anyone.

And unlike the cold world of law that many attorneys practice such as business law, patent law or maritime law (just to name a few) - with family law things are personal. You aren't just dissolving a contract between companies; you are separating flesh and blood.

Type 1: Standard or Traditional Divorce

In America, more than half of every person either has been divorced or is going to get a divorce. And given the size of the market - it's no wonder than divorce is probably the largest area of family law.

Traditional divorces can get nasty from a legal standpoint. Spouses often rush to find the most aggressive attorney in hopes of securing the best settlement possible. However, the acrimony often associated with traditional divorce often leaves former spouses and families bitter and angry and makes life after the divorce messy for everyone.

Type 2: Uncontested or no fault divorces

Uncontested, or sometimes called "no fault" divorces are much different than the long, drawn out and expensive process we just described. Instead it's more like the Las Vegas version of getting unmarried. These are usually done quickly and generally do not involve child custody, visitation or support issues and there is usually no dispute of marital assets.

One big advantage of this method is that it's inexpensive. With little time spent fighting and negotiating, there isn't much for the attorneys to bill you for. However if the 2 spouses are having trouble talking to each other, this may not be the way to go.

Collaborative Divorce

Collaborative divorce, on the other hand, is another to traditional divorce proceedings. It's called "collaborative" because both sides agree to more of a bargaining style of marriage resolution with a goal of lower cost and less collateral damage to the family. It features a team based approach that tries to consider the interests of all parties involved while respecting the privacy of the whole family.

In fact, everyone agrees and enters into a "Participation Agreement" that says if an agreement or settlement is not reached, the lawyers will withdraw from the process and not participate in the any litigation which may follow.

Andre` Savoie is the author of this article on Divorce Law.
Find more information about Maryland family Law here.