Divorce With Respect Is An Attainable Goal
This is the second year that I’ve participated in Divorce With Respect Week, and the second year I have brought it to Michigan—expanding our reach across the state.
And for the second year running, we are offering free introductory consultations for people considering divorce during Divorce with Respect Week, which runs March 1-8, 2026.
Divorce With Respect Week, a national initiative first introduced by Collaborative Practice California in 2021, unites divorce professionals throughout the country in raising awareness about Collaborative Divorce as a client-centered alternative to traditional litigation. It has grown into a national movement to help divorcing couples find a less combative way to untie the knot.
Last year, nearly 600 Collaborative professionals participated in Divorce with Respect Week®, and more than 16,000 visitors visited DivorceWithRespectWeek.com.
This effort focuses on the Collaborative Divorce process, which I’ve practiced for a long time. But I would take it further—divorcing with respect can only happen through processes that focus on equal footing, processes like Mediation as well as Collaborative Divorce.
Pretty much any out-of-court process that you can use to end a marriage promotes less combat and more harmony.
People divorcing today don’t want to engage in an adversarial process. They also want to keep costs down, and they want a divorce process that is easier to navigate.
In the available out-of-court processes, you’re always supported by a professional who focuses on your family. In the case of Collaborative Divorce, it’s a team of professionals—even better! Everyone involved has your true best interests at heart. What’s more, they listen to you and encourage your partner to listen as well.
That does not happen in court.
A decade or two ago, when I would talk to people about alternative ways of getting divorced, it was so unknown that people shied away from it. No one wanted to be the guinea pig!
But times have changed, and I guess people have, too. When the court system was forced to go online during the pandemic, we all saw the possibilities and promise for resolving divorce outside of court.
No one wants to be on Zoom! It’s hard to focus, and hard to be seen or heard.
Recently, I’ve been caught up in a litigation case, one of my very last ones since I made the switch to focusing only on out-of-court processes. This case was ordered by the court to an evidentiary hearing (like a trial but in front of a Friend of the Court referee and it could still go to trial in front of the judge, too). This post-divorce judgment case has gone on for more than a year, and it’s still not done. So much of that is due to the overloaded court which cannot give us time on the docket often for weeks at a time.
There are so many cases that the court must manage and so many issues. My referee is handling so many cases with so many other responsibilities to thousands of families that they can only hold hearings on Tuesdays.
And, court-based outcomes are also very limiting because the court cannot possibly know each person’s values and what is important to them, nor consider within that context an individual family’s unique needs. Without this information the outcome can wholly miss the mark. The court system needs to move people through—not necessarily see them as individuals with their own needs and desires.
This is the way it’s always been done. But when you choose an out-of-court process for your divorce, you bring unique ideas and solutions to the table based on what is important to you and to your family. And people are prepared to hear you and take action toward your ideal outcomes.
Out-of-court, clients get more attention, which raises the level of respect—for yourself and your partner.
If you just think about the phrase—Divorce With Respect—it’s an invitation! It’s a challenge!
It means hearing, listening and understanding what each person is saying, even if you don’t agree. Giving them the respect to listen and to consider.
When we are all on the same page, when we all feel relevant, it’s a lot easier to find a resolution that works for everyone.