If you’re facing a divorce in Cranberry Township, Mars, Seven Fields, Valencia, or elsewhere in Butler County, you don’t have to resolve every issue in a courtroom. At Standish & Conlin, attorneys Lisa Standish and Marissa Conlin help Butler County couples pursue collaborative divorce, a process designed to keep decisions about your family and finances in your hands rather than a judge’s.
What Makes Collaborative Divorce Different?
In a traditional divorce, unresolved issues eventually come before a judge in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, where a judge may ultimately decide unresolved issues involving property, finances, support, or custody. Collaborative divorce takes a different approach. You and your spouse each retain your own collaboratively trained attorney and sign a participation agreement stating your intent to resolve the matter through the collaborative process.
If the process ends without a full agreement, the collaborative attorneys generally cannot represent either spouse in the resulting litigation. The collaborative process can give couples more flexibility over scheduling and the pace of negotiations than traditional contested litigation.
How This Fits Into the Butler County Process
Even though collaborative divorce avoids litigation, Pennsylvania law still requires certain filings to finalize your divorce. Once you and your spouse reach a complete settlement, your attorneys file the agreed-upon paperwork with the Butler County Prothonotary, and the case proceeds to a final decree without a contested hearing before a judge or master. Support and custody matters, if any remain open, still go through the Butler County Domestic Relations Section, but couples who settle collaboratively often resolve those issues within the process itself rather than through a separate conference.
Who Collaborative Divorce Works Best For
Collaborative divorce isn’t right for every case, but it tends to work well for couples who:
- Want to protect their children from the conflict of a contested custody case
- Have a business, retirement accounts, or other assets they’d rather value and divide privately than litigate in open court
- Can communicate, even if the marriage itself has broken down
- Want more control over the timeline and outcome of their divorce than the court process typically allows
If there are safety concerns, hidden assets, or one spouse is unwilling to negotiate in good faith, a more traditional path through the Butler County courts may be the better fit, and Standish & Conlin can help you make that assessment honestly.
Why Butler County Couples Choose Standish & Conlin
We understand both sides of this equation: how the collaborative process works, and how the Butler County Court of Common Pleas handles divorce, custody, and support when a case does need judicial involvement. That dual perspective lets us give you a clear-eyed recommendation about which path serves your family, rather than steering every client toward the same process.
Contact Our Divorce Lawyers at Standish & Conlin
If you’re considering a divorce in Butler County and want to explore whether the collaborative process is right for your family, Standish & Conlin can walk you through your options. Call us at 412-218-3792 or reach out online to schedule a consultation.