Collaborative divorce doesn’t have as much buzz of late as it once did. But it still has its fans, and its good points.

For those who may be considering a collaborative divorce, some of those good points are listed below:

• Privacy. Any way you cut it, a lot less paper finds its way into the court file in a collaborative divorce (or any uncontested divorce, truth be told). That means less private information – and the proverbial outrageous allegations – are exposed in the publicly accessible court file.

• Control. In a collaborative divorce (or any uncontested divorce, truth be told), spouses do not give up decision-making authority to a judge. They agree on everything themselves. Granted, that means give and take and compromise, but they still have more choice and control than if a third party, like a judge or arbitrator, has an absolute right to impose their will on them.

• Not as emotion-driven. By its nature, collaborative divorce utilizes support professionals intended to keep the parties on speaking terms and on an even and focused keel. (Of course, people who choose this path tend not to be as predisposed toward “go for the jugular” hostilities and rages.) In traditional divorces, there are some spouses who would really benefit from intensive therapeutic support. But their attorney can only recommend this to them. An attorney can’t require it and the process doesn’t require it.

• Easier on the children. This, of course, is a good thing, and it’s true of most uncontested divorces. Although there certainly are exceptions, such as when it takes way too long to arrive at agreement or where there is an agreement but one of the spouses really “gets the shaft” or “takes the shaft” to spare the children the litigated divorce. Eventually, this has a way of backfiring.

• Cost effective. Truthfully, collaborative divorce may not save any money, it just tends to expend it differently. In fact, collaborative divorce may be more expensive in money terms than many conventional divorces. But if non-monetary costs are factored in, there may well be a savings.

Read more in this [Newtown PA] Patch article: Top Five Reasons to Divorce Collaboratively After Age 50.