Collaborative law is an idea whose time has come. Divorces in court are unreasonably expensive, unpredictable and emotionally costly. They also take far too long. Divorces without any attorney involvement or low “flat fee” divorces (usually plus unspecified ‘filing and service fees’) are also poor choices for most couples with children to care for or assets to divide. By contrast, collaborative law offers access to an attorney’s experience and advice in the framework of a process in which all the participants are committed to staying out of court.

On average a wedding in the United States costs $27,000, according to Conde Nast Bridal Group — twice what it was 15 years ago. The average cost of a divorce is difficult to determine but divorce proceedings range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Estimates on the average cost of a divorce in the United States are between $14,000 and $29,000.

Why are divorces so expensive?

When people go to court, most of the expense is attributable to lawyers. Domestic law is currently a $27 billion annual industry. Court fees also add substantial costs to divorce bills (even less expensive options, like formal mediation, are costly). If you want to reduce those costs and plan for your future in a meaningful way, you have an alternative.

Collaborative law is a smart and increasingly popular approach to divorce. During collaborative law negotiations, both spouses hire lawyers, but the lawyers are committed to resolving differences without any form of litigation or any court procedure.

Some measure of shared trust is crucial. Collaborative divorce is not without expense — moderately complicated divorces cost on average 60% of traditional court divorce proceedings — but it still has big savings over battling things out in court, where the process and costs can quickly spin out of control.

Divorcing couples should try to stay out of court if at all possible to avoid becoming trapped in an endless litigation cycle which only hurts everyone and wastes money.

View a Today Show interview on some of the benefits of collaborative divorce law here: