Divorce can be a rough, gruelling experience. Even when they’re amicable, and both sides agree it’s the right step to take, they’re accompanied by feelings of sadness, regret, and loneliness. And that’s when they are amicable.
Divorces can be feuds, with sides warring over custody rights, spousal support, and more. When divorcing couples continue the fighting, nobody wins. Collaborative lawyers prioritize empathy to get the best results for their clients and their children. Let’s look now at why empathy is so important when hiring a family lawyer.
Healthy Co-parenting Foundation
For divorcing couples with children, separating has very different implications. The couple may be breaking apart, but they still need to work together long into the future to raise their kids. It’s not a clean split. Whatever arguments or disputes they had that caused them to separate need to be suspended as they rebuild the trust and respect necessary to work together.
Empathetic lawyers with a holistic approach help parents build a healthy co-parenting foundation when getting an Ontario separation agreement or divorce. They will insist on making a genuine concession to the other side when it’s reasonable and benefits the kids.
Let’s look at an example. If the father is a filmmaker and their child is passionate about making movies, the mother’s lawyer will ensure they have time to grow their bond. The mother’s empathetic lawyer knows that what’s best for the child is also best for the client, even if the father appears to benefit.
Empathetic lawyers don’t see divorce as a process to maximize their clients’ rights over things like custody, the asset split, and support, where crushing the opposing side is the goal. Instead, the point is to get the best footing possible for their client and their children.
Calm, Professional Tone
Divorce is anything but an emotionally neutral process. Even the relatively friendly ones may be emotionally intense. Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, they’re bitter and contested.
If you let these emotions creep into the proceedings, they won’t help move things forward productively. Having an experienced professional de-escalate the proceedings from the start by conducting themselves with a positive, helpful tone is vital.
However you feel inside, you need the discussion to be practical, not driven by intense emotions.
Tough If Necessary
Even the most positive collaborative lawyer can’t control how the other side will respond to their overtures. If they reject the peaceful dialogue and decide to be war-like, an empathetic lawyer will pivot to toughness.
Their goal is to help their clients achieve the best of all worlds, which means setting them up with financial security in a way that lets their entire family move forward. They try to be genuinely helpful, but there’s only so much they can control.
Empathetic lawyers are ready for all contingencies and can fight doggedly for their clients if the situation requires.
Hopefully, the divorce will be quick and smooth, so children get back to a structured, orderly life, and parents can move on with their personal lives. Hiring an empathetic family lawyer is the best way to achieve these goals.
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