Four types of divorce in Bucks County PA

There are four paths processes you can choose to get your divorce decree in Pennsylvania. The legal steps are spelled out by Pennsylvania statutes and do not vary from one person to another. But each couple can choose how they get there. My office offers each of these approaches.

I always encourage clients to start with what I call the Kitchen Table approach. This is just what it sounds like – sit down at your kitchen table with paper pads and pencils, and talk through your assets and, if you have any, childcare decisions. Map out everything you can as to how to divide property and investments fairly. If you have minor children, discuss the details of where you agree they should live or visit, what days and hours each parent will be responsible for, how to split expenses.

A portion of divorcing couples retain enough amiability and confidence in each other that they can do this part on their own. When this is the case, they save themselves large amounts of money otherwise spent with lawyers and other professionals. If the divorce is uncontested – meaning neither party objects to divorce – they need only hire me to shepherd through the divorce papers and finalize the details. In this situation, however, I am only representing one of the parties.

The popular image of divorce is that of vicious court battles, with each party airing the other’s dirty laundry in front of a judge and creating a mountain of paper to support their view. Remember the movie “Kramer vs. Kramer” or a slew of hotly covered celebrity divorces? This is called litigated divorce, and is by far the most expensive way to divorce. It entails each party hiring their own attorney, communication funneled through lawyers, and often multiple court dates. If the spouses cannot reach their own decision, a judge makes it for them.

A third method is mediation, which my office also offers. In this scenario, both spouses become my clients, hiring me to sit with them while they discuss issues of childcare, property disposition, and current and future support. This is a variant of my Kitchen Table approach, in that the couple has invited me to the table as a neutral mediator. My role is to listen carefully to both sides, clarify each person’s point of view, and propose solutions when the negotiations break down. Although I am a lawyer, in mediation I do not offer legal advice as much as serve as a third party witness to the resolution the parties are crafting themselves.

Often, this takes 3-4 sessions, and I see higher satisfaction in the results when both spouses embrace this method.

There is now also a relatively new process called Collaborative Law, in which both parties sign a contract agreeing to stay out of court. Like traditional litigated divorce, each spouse hires a lawyer to represent their interests. These lawyers, like myself, are highly trained in negotiation and mediation.

Neutral financial planners and family or child counselors, who also have specialized collaborative training, are often included in this team approach. I find Collaborative Law the most effective in equalizing the conversation in situations where one spouse may be stronger, more outspoken, or more knowledgeable than the other.

Couples who have chosen divorce are all moving toward the same destination – a Divorce Decree. As they move through the forest of emotions and paperwork that surrounds the splitting of a family and its assets, they often have more choices than they realize of how to to get there.