How to Get a Divorce: 5 Options For Getting Divorced You Might Not Have Considered

When faced with getting divorced, many people realize they actually do not know how to get a divorce.

You might be wondering who you should contact and what steps to take. Not knowing your available options can lead to costly mistakes and unnecessary complications. Sound professional advice will save you from emotional and financial distress. Before you get a divorce, one of the first things you will need to consider is which approach best fits your situation.

How To Get a Divorce: 5 Approaches

Divorce Mediation

If you choose mediation when getting divorced, you will work with a trained divorce mediator. This person acts as an impartial, non-confrontational figure between the spouses who does not offer an opinion on how a case should be resolved. The divorce mediator helps facilitate the process of working out the terms of the divorce, fostering attention to each party’s needs, and brainstorming ideas so couples can craft their own agreement.

Divorce Arbitration

Arbitration is similar to mediation in that there is one neutral party – the arbitrator, who is often an atto
ey or former judge. Arbitration differs vastly from mediation in that the arbitrator acts more like a judge and has power to compel the spouses to abide by the arbitrator's decisions.

Collaborative Divorce

You might also get a divorce using a team approach, engaging a combination of trained professionals. In a collaborative divorce, you may have two collaboratively trained atto
eys - each representing one spouse, trained coaches to help the participants overcome the emotional part of the process, and a financial neutral to help guide the parties to their own agreement on the financial aspects of the settlement. Parents getting divorced might also include a child specialist to look out for the children’s best interests.

Cooperative Divorce

A collaborative divorce is a hybrid between collaborative and a traditionally litigated divorce. Cooperative divorce parties agree to be “cooperative,” meaning they are forthcoming with requested information and act civilized toward each other. However, they do not give up their rights to litigate their case if need be.

Traditional Litigation

Litigation is the traditional approach to getting divorced. In traditional litigation, both spouses hire atto
eys to advise, represent, and advocate for their interests in negotiations and in court. If you need to fight fire with fire - and in some cases you will – you will need an aggressive family law atto
ey on your side in court. A good atto
ey can work a great settlement, but only if you have real assets to split or a spouse who can legitimately afford to pay you alimony.

Just remember, when getting divorced, it is imperative that you independently arm yourself with knowledge. The most important tip for how to get a divorce is finding trained legal and financial professionals can help you navigate the course to avoid common pitfalls and costly mistakes.