It is expensive financially as well as emotionally. Costs can go into the tens of thousands of dollars and can span a period of 18 months to several years if it is a hotly contested case. The litigation process of divorce is nothing short of a war with the objective of having only one person standing at the end of it. During the intensity of the moment, many couples are just too bitter and angry to be aware of the consequences of their actions. As a result, money is often squandered, long standing relationships are annihilated and innocent children are deeply harmed by being placed in a tug of war.
Divorce is more than a legal process.
It is an emotional roller coaster filled with grief, interpersonal and social disruption, and insecurity. Feelings of failure, defeat, rejection, resentment, frustration, pity, rage and guilt may all erupt during some part of the divorce process. The fact that there are children involved adds not only to the legal complexities but intensifies the emotional issues as well. Children are rarely taken into consideration until the custody phase and they often suffer in silence. With this picture of divorce in mind, there is an alternative to marching off to court to do battle with attorneys portending as gladiators fighting for the rights of their opposing clients.