A divorce without court refers to the collaborative approach to divorce. Rather than allowing a Judge to take control of your divorce and your future, you agree from the outset to focus on coming up with solutions that will govern the rest of your lives and that of your children. The parties decide upon the custodial arrangements and access schedule for the children, often with the help of a divorce coach. The parties, assisted by their attorneys, also work on solutions for dividing up their assets, paying their liabilities and also determine how much support is to be paid.
In a collaborative divorce you and your spouse save money by avoiding the time spent at the Court House and at the same time the parties can focus on the needs of their children while preparing for new lives.
Once an Agreement is reached in the collaborative process, the parties go to court for a court appearance that is normally concluded in less than 15 minutes and occurs within 45 days of the Agreement being reached. In New Jersey the average time for a collaborative divorce is 6 months from the time the parties begin the collaborative process to the time they are divorce. On the other hand, the average time to conclude a litigated divorce is greater than one year and in some counties it is significantly longer than a year.
