photo courtesy of Forbes.com

Forbes.com offers up tips for helping make divorce “more manageable in the long run.” Aside from some gendered advice under #2 on the list–(Grow Up and Take Control: “Even the women who could be in charge of lots of money at work just step away from being financially responsible in their personal lives,” says Margery Rubin, divorce coach and author of What Your Divorce Lawyer May Not Tell You (Simon & Schuster, 2009). “It’s that ‘Daddy will take care of me,’ type of thing. I call it the ‘Little Girl’ syndrome.”)–the tips are useful to men and women.

Of course Tip #5 really caught our co-parenting eye:

Divorce can be acrimonious, but for those couples that are amicably going their separate ways, or maybe just want to avoid the trauma of a courtroom, something called Collaborative Law, a fairly new process offered as an option in most states, may be the way to go. “At the end of the day, it can be a better outcome because both parties arrive at a solution, rather than leaving it to someone in a black robe,” says McCormack, who says about 10% of her clients decide to use the collaborative method. It can also be much less expensive and less taxing on children.

While each party is represented by attorneys who are certified in collaborative law, each must also sign a contract committing to stay out of court. If the process falls apart and the parties decide to take it to court after all, they need to start from scratch and hire new lawyers. “You don’t put away the law, but you become a team dedicated to deciding what is best for the future of you both,” she continues. More information can be found on collablaw.com (emphasis ours)

Read the full article here.