Recently, a family law judge in Palm Beach County provided valuable insight to a group of local divorce attorneys and professionals.
The judge reminded us that 97% of all divorce cases in Palm Beach County reach a settlement agreement without going to trial.
3% of divorce matters in Palm Beach County go to trial. These are the 3% that are forced to have a judge decide their most important family and financial issues.
The judge advised us that in his opinion, he is the third best person to make these decisions for the family.
He regularly tells spouses that they are much better suited to make these difficult decisions. The family is armed with the knowledge of their history and their plans for their future and how they can customize an agreement to reach those goals. The judge is not afforded this luxury.
Next, if spouses can’t reach an agreement on their own, the judge indicated that experienced family law attorneys provide a valuable service in educating the spouses on the law and working to help the family identify the best available compromises based upon the law in Florida.
Lastly, 3% of the time, none of this works and a judge will make the decision for the family after years of litigation, and a trial.
If you plan for your divorce to be part of the 97% that don’t go to trial, then why not start out from that perspective?
Don’t start your divorce by filing a lawsuit against your spouse and demanding that he or she respond in court within 20 days.
Instead, you can meet with a collaborative divorce attorney to pursue a peaceful, private and respectful divorce process. You can set the process in motion to assure that you and your spouse are provided with all of the information and tools necessary to make your own decisions in your divorce.
If you, or a friend of yours, has questions about Collaborative divorce in Palm Beach County, we are here to help.
