You and your spouse may be the divorce experts your family needs

Getting a divorce can be a knock-down battle to determine the best interests of your children. But a high-conflict divorce that pits you against your spouse may not be the best course of action for your family.

Parents that work together provide a better blueprint for their children’s emotional development. Mediation and collaborative divorce could be the best way to transition into sharing the responsibilities of raising your children. Let that teamwork start before your marriage is even over, and get to laying the groundwork for a successful family relationship that you could profit from for years to come.

Making the team work

Removing your divorce from the courtroom can have a load of benefits when crafting the best future for your family:

• More satisfaction: Studies have shown that the more you participate in the divorce process, the more satisfied you’re likely to be. You’ll be able to have a say in the proceedings, instead of being at the whims of laws that may not have your family’s best interests in mind. This could result in less ill-will than a battle in court.
• More of a say: You’ll generally have more freedom to set the goalposts in a cooperative process, and determine how you get there. While a courtroom is bound by legal requirements, you may be able to decide on custody and support terms that work for you.
• More privacy: Everything that comes out in court is usually fodder for the public record. Cooperative divorce is more likely to happen behind closed doors. This might save your children the possibility of ending up in the middle of a painful process.

Paving the way for teamwork over time could do wonders for your family. Leave the courts to determine someone else’s terms, while you and your family work on your own.