Considering Brad and Angelina have lived much of their private life behind closed doors, it makes sense they would look to settle their divorce in a similar manner.
Brad and Angelina Settling Behind Closed Doors
When Brad and Angelina first started dating 12-years ago it was on the eve of Pitt’s divorce from Jennifer Aniston. While “Brangelina” was “undercover” for a while, the couple allegedly began their relationship while on the set of their movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The couple was wed two years ago in 2014 and have 5 children: 15-year-old Maddox, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and 8-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.
For many couples, a collaborative divorce can make all the difference when it comes to settling a divorce.
Collaborative Divorce
As Family lawyer Nathalie Boutet explained, amicable and collaborative divorces or “conscious uncoupling” allows couples to avoid any unnecessary conflict. This type of conflict prolongs and publicizes negotiations, explained Boutet. According to her, “[Conscious uncoupling] is simply thinking about the consequences of your actions…it’s making plans rather than reacting to emotions like fear, anger or revenge.”
During a collaborative divorce process a team of four people—lawyers for each spouse, a mental health coach and financial professional – sit down and work together to create a solution for each spouse regarding everything that needs to be decided: child support and visitation, spousal support, and marital property division. Collaboration is done face to face so that each spouse is able to voice his or her own opinion. The team allows open communication and negotiation. The process allows people to work together as a team of negotiators to come to an emotional, financial, and legal solution.
Less Expensive and Less Time Spent
According to Jenkins, when a divorce goes to court, you can pay $100,000 just to get to the courthouse steps. An average collaborative can save you a ton of money, as the average one costs about $32,000. “People are raiding their retirement accounts just to pay for divorces,” said Rackham Karlsson, a collaborative attorney. “Going to court can be more expensive, more time intensive and corrosive for children.”
An average collaborative divorce takes three to four months to reach a settlement. When it comes to standard divorce, there really is no timeline. In fact, some divorces, when extremely litigious, have been known to drag on for years as spouses fight over property and spousal support, and who will receive the wedding china. And because a standard divorce decision is left up to a judge to decide, there is very little control you have over timing and outcome with a case that goes to divorce court.
A Good Alternative
There are numerous reasons why people choose the collaborative divorce process over the standard divorce process. The main reasons are that it’s less combative, and the final agreement feels more organic and more of well, an actual agreement than a decree. A couple is able to save time, money, and maybe even some headaches if they are able to work as a member of the collaborative divorce process.
Irreconcilable Differences
Jolie cited “irreconcilable differences” as their reason for the end of their marriage.
“Irreconcilable differences” is often the cited reason for a divorce filing. Filing “irreconcilable differences” means there is no hope that the couple will be able to resolve the problems they have with each other to be able to save the marriage. Some states use the term ” irretrievable breakdown of the marriage” instead of “irreconcilable differences.” You will need to check with your state’s terminology and grounds for divorces as each state has different requirements regarding what can be cited as the reason. A divorce attorney will be able to advise you on your state’s specific laws regarding grounds for divorce.
California is a no-fault state. “No-fault” means just that – neither party is at fault for the end of the marriage. So neither spouse is able to be found “guilty” for committing any sort of extenuating act, such as adultery, abandonment, or extreme cruelty.
High Net-Worth Divorces
It’s been estimated that Pitt has a net worth of $240 million and Jolie’s is estimated at around $160 million. Combined, the couple’s net worth is estimated to be $400 million.
Defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a “High Net-Worth Divorce” is “One in which a natural person who has individual net worth, or joint worth with the person’s spouse, that exceeds $1 million dollars at the time of purchase, excluding the value of the primary residence of such person; or a natural person with an income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with a spouse exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year.” If you find yourself in this financial situation, having a skilled Pasadena High Net Worth Divorce Lawyer on your side to maneuver this unique set of divorce circumstances is essential.
For individuals who carry a significant net worth, protecting themselves in the case of divorce is essential in order to properly secure their assets. Statistically speaking, individuals across a wide spectrum can find themselves facing the reality of divorce, no matter their socioeconomic status, ethnicity or religion, but the more assets involved and the higher the net worth, the greater the stakes when it comes to separation of finances and property.
Regardless of a person’s net worth, all divorce proceedings should follow a similar protocol awarding equal treatment and regard for the allocation of property, finances and matters relating to children and a High Net Worth Divorce attorney is extremely beneficial for wealthy individuals with much to lose from a divorce.
In general, most divorces follow a series of events that are relatively standard in their unfolding and pertain largely to individuals of a low to medium socioeconomic bracket. This demographic of couples comprise the bulk of divorces in the United States. Many individuals, however, require the expertise of a skilled High Net Worth Divorce Attorney who can assist them through the more complicated process of their divorce based on their higher level of income and High Net-Worth. Knowledge of such specific legal situations as creating and enforcing prenuptial agreements, estates, international property holdings, various investments, high incomes and/or professional licenses is essential, and a skilled High Net Worth Divorce Attorney at the Southern California Law Offices of Divorce Law LA can provide just such assistance.
Co-Parenting
Co-parenting is a crucial part of your child’s life. You will not be able to raise a child successfully if you do not get a handle on this. No child wants to see their parents fighting, or feel as if they are being tugged between two sides of a war.
You might need to consult a therapist or lawyer to get some groundwork laid for this new relationship. Bottom line: just try to be adults. You might have to dig deep to find that “adult” in there, and you might not want to, but you have to, for your child’s sake. Find an approach that will work for you (for the both of you) and then start from that point.
Kids Interests First
Putting your child’s best interests above your own are the only way to build a successful co-parenting situation while creating an amicable relationship with your ex. You two don’t need to be best friends that talk a million times a day. You just need to find a way to make this work, kind of like being assigned to a lab partner in high school that you just couldn’t stand. You had to work together to get through the assignment and to get the A+ grade that you wanted. If you could make that work in high school, you can make this relationship work as an adult.
This can be done in a number of ways:
- Work out a method of communication. This can be done through email or text. Being able to write it down helps to create a “paper trail” should there be disputes. But this is also a great way to just remove the emotions and stick to the fact.
- Remove the emotion during interaction – either in person or via communication
- Schedule it out. This means weekly routines as well as vacation and other important events.
- Be flexible
- Commit to being cooperative. This might be a stretch, but you will need to cooperate.
This is not always an easy process, but once you have these basic things under your belt, it will be easier.
A Family Law Attorney
But when it comes to the actual legal process of a divorce, you’ll want to work with a skilled family law attorney. There are a number of things that need to be considered during a divorce: child support, spousal support, marital property division, and other things. Working with a skilled attorney can help ensure you get a fair case. For advice on divorce, child custody determinations, setting up a co-parenting agreement, dividing marital property, and spousal support you need the expert law firm of Divorce Law LA. Schedule a consultation today.
33 S. Catalina Ave. Ste. 202
Pasadena, Ca. 91106
(626) 478-3550