In 2014 we didn’t know who would run for president in the 2016 elections, the Guardians of the Galaxy had just arrived, Pharrell Williams was “happy” and the Ebola virus outbreak was reaching epidemic proportions in West Africa.

Also, in 2014 we published a three-part article on how to start the divorce process, and despite the changes since 2014, the divorce is pretty much the same. The choice is yours when you get divorced. You decide how much professional help you want, how much control you want over the outcome, and how much time and energy to spend on your divorce.

What is different in 2020 is the continued popularity of divorce proceedings that are family-centered versus fighting. Every year more professionals are trained in collaborative law and mediation. Deliberate decoupling has become a buzzword for a better divorce. More and more resources are coming up to help explain divorce options in a more understandable and accessible way:

A success story of collaborative law – 4-part video series

Mediation helps solve your conflict – video

In 2014 we sketched the options for the divorce process and the differences between the right to collaborate, mediation, and more traditional options. Since then, based on my experience of actively working in the fields of collaborative law and mediation, I have noticed an increase in creativity that professionals and clients are willing to contribute to problem solving.

In 2020, it’s okay to say these cases

do not have to fit into a process box.

The growth of collaborative law and mediation has been slower than some (including the author of this article) would like, but the future is bright.

In the event of a divorce, we ask clients to look a year or two into the future and think about what their life should be like. This will help them see the hope that is possible and determine which process might be best for them. When I look back at the growth from 2014 to 2020, I am also full of hope for what is possible for the future of conflict resolution.

We have updated our divorce process options chart to reflect this attitude of hope. We have created two versions with different levels of information and you can decide which one you prefer. Feel free to either share on your website or to print and share with your customers (respecting our copyright and contact information for attribution):

To post on your website or blog, copy and paste the following code:

To post on your website or blog, copy and paste the following code: