Most divorces never reach a courtroom. They settle. What matters is how the settlement gets made, and what it costs everyone to get there.
Collaborative divorce is one route. Both spouses keep their own attorneys, and everyone signs an agreement at the outset: no court, and no threat of it. Should the process fail and either spouse choose to litigate, both attorneys withdraw and the spouses begin again with new counsel. That single rule changes the incentives. No one is assembling a case for trial, so no one is hoarding documents or scoring points.
The spouses and their attorneys work through it together, in person or by video. When the finances are involved — a business, real estate, retirement accounts — a neutral financial professional joins, working for both spouses rather than one. When there are children, someone trained to keep the focus on them can join as well. Both sides draw on one set of experts instead of hiring their own and arguing over whose numbers hold.
It is not the right route for everyone. It works when both people want a resolution and will be straight about the finances. If that is not where you are, I will tell you early rather than let you spend months finding out.
I sit on the board of the Tampa Bay Academy of Collaborative Professionals. I have practiced in court and through settlement for years.
Whether it suits your situation is worth a conversation.