Collaborative Divorce – A New Team Member

There is a new member on the Collaborative divorce team.  A career coach is becoming an invaluable asset in collabortive divorce negotioations. Quite a few women have put aside their work aspirations to raise a family and have been out of the job market for awhile.  A career coach may be brought in to help these women determine their strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan of action. An intial assessment of skills and interest is performed and then the woman and career coach investigate potential jobs and career paths. It may be that the woman has developed different interest areas and accomplishments from her previous jobs and requires some vocational guidence during and post-divorce.  The career coach can assist with concrete tasks, such as helping to write a resume and check job wanted ads. Another function is to provide  reassurance and support for the spouse who is now hunting for a job.

An additional reason that a career coach is brought onboard is to help determine alimony and child support during collaborative divorce negotiations. These are determined by the earning potential of both spouses.  If one spouse has to go back to school or training to update her skills or license, then the career coach can point this out for a fairer  alimony/child support settlement.

In an acrimonious divorce, the career coach is a neutral person who can help set alimony/child support in an impartial manner.