There are a multitude of ways to seek a divorce. The final document will include both financial and custodial issues. The parenting plan within this document is meant to address the needs of your children, as well as your co-parenting arrangements. The process that you and your ex select may make all the difference in the final outcome.
The first option is that individuals will settle their own issues. This is possible when both parties are agreeable and resolve all of their own issues on their own. This is easiest if there are not many decisions to be made about custody or finances. This option does have risk depending on the situation. In this scenario, the divorcing couple will hire an attorney to review their documents and file them in the proper format. One attorney cannot represent both people, and it is often recommended that each party have their own lawyer. The idea is that both parties are protected.
The second option is that the individuals settle with the assistance of a professional neutral such as a moderator. This person will assist both parties in coming to agreements about each part of the divorce. In order for this to work, both parties still have to be agreeable. The third option is that they will go through the collaborative law process. If both parties cannot come to an agreement in the divorce proceedings, parties may end up hiring an adversarial attorney to seek a divorce through the courts. The last option is to hire a family law attorney. Some family attorneys prefer to create a settlement agreement outside of court, while some attorneys are known for their preference for an adversarial divorce. All family attorneys are trained to begin to prepare for a messy divorce with a court hearing just in case settlement does not work.
Going to court can be extremely stressful and may ultimately harm your ability to co-parent, which in turn harms your children. For more information regarding divorce proceedings, click here to check out the Cooperative Parenting Blog.
Click here to contact your Vancouver WA family law attorney today.