Attorney
You might think that encouraging hundreds of huge bags of hot air with no real steering mechanism to take to the sky at the same time would be a recipe for disaster. But if you have ever been to the Balloon Fiesta, you know it is more like poetry in motion.
What makes Balloon Fiesta work isn’t luck, it’s teamwork and experience. The Fiesta organizers work with experts at the FAA and NOAA to ensure conditions are safe, teams supporting each balloon have a designated launch window, and once they are in the air, pilots read the wind and adjust their burners accordingly.
This same sort of skill and coordination is on display when couples in the Albuquerque area choose a collaborative divorce instead of contesting each step of the process.
The difference between the two paths is not always stark, but it is like night and day when a business owning couple opts for a collaborative divorce. And the biggest benefits are often financial.
Where Litigation Costs Take Off
When a divorce is contested, and litigation is the only path forward, costs climb more quickly than a balloon on a calm, cool morning. Even business savvy couples who are familiar with the expense and emotional toll that litigation takes, are often taken aback by how quickly the costs add up.
Formal discovery is often the biggest driver. Each spouse typically hires their own financial expert to value the business, and those experts rarely agree. That disagreement leads to depositions, competing reports, and sometimes a battle of the experts playing out in front of a judge who has no background in your industry.
Each day a resolution is delayed also adds to the cost of the divorce because it is a drag on the business. When ownership is unclear, decisions are delayed, and key relationships are strained, the business can lose value.
How Collaborative Divorce Changes the Flight Path
A collaborative divorce is structured differently from the ground up, and that structure is what can make it more cost effective than a traditional litigated divorce, particularly for business owning couples.
Because both spouses commit to open, voluntary financial disclosure, there’s no need for formal discovery. No subpoenas, no interrogatories, and no depositions are needed to pry loose information the other side would rather not share. The information is simply exchanged.
Dividing up the value of the business (or ownership of the business itself) is also simpler, with a neutral assessor and/or financial advisor at the table. When the family’s future financial security depends on the business weathering the divorce and continuing to support everyone, a more peaceful, thoughtful divorce process keeps everything aloft.
And because the process moves at the speed the parties decide rather than the pace the court demands, resolution tends to happen faster. For a business, faster often means the difference between operating normally throughout the divorce and having a cloud of uncertainty hang over it for a year or more.
The Honest Caveat
Collaborative divorce can save time, money, and a couple’s sanity, but it is not appropriate in every situation. Its success depends on both spouses genuinely committing to the process. If either party decides to abandon the collaborative approach, both attorneys are required to withdraw, and the couple has to start over with new legal counsel.
That restart carries real cost, which is exactly why it’s worth an honest conversation up front about whether collaborative divorce fits your situation before you begin.
Serving Families with Dignity & Compassion
If you’re a business owner considering divorce, the path you choose affects more than your marriage. Your business and your family’s future financial security is also on the line. Nobody understands this better than Bob Matteucci, who was inspired to go to law school after going through the divorce process as a business owner.
Bob’s MBA degree and experience as a business owner, combined with his membership in the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), means he is ready to help you figure out if collaborative divorce can help keep your family afloat, or if it would go over like a lead balloon. Please contact him today to set up a meeting and discuss your case.