"My husband says we'll save time and money by using the collaborative approach because we can share a divorce lawyer. Is that really how Collaborative Divorce works?"

No. In Collaborative Divorce, each spouse hires his or her own collaborative lawyer.

However, divorce cases resolved through the collaborative process sometimes (though not always) cost less than traditional litigated cases, because the parties and their lawyers do not hire their own sets of financial or mental-health experts: often, one neutral financial advisor takes part, for example. All the professionals involved work together to resolve the issues. Another reason Collaborative Divorce may be less expensive (and time-consuming) for you is that the parties and professionals are not caught up in arguing, filing motions, or awaiting distant court dates. Since the goal is to work together to come to a common resolution rather than to "defeat" each other, things tend to go more quickly, cheaply and smoothly in the collaborative method.