Divorce, custody disputes, and legal separation are among life’s most emotionally challenging events for families. Studies show that the negative impact divorce may have on children, is even worse than the death of a parent. Unfortunately, the traditional court process often adds more pain — introducing delays, conflict, and public exposure — when privacy and peace are needed most. By it’s very nature, litigation is an adversarial process that is structured to create opposition and cause division amongst families. It discourages collaboration and places important family decisions in the hands of a judge, who doesn’t know you, your family, children or what is best for them.
At Family Wealth & Legacy Legal Solutions (FWLLS), we believe families deserve better.
We help clients throughout Illinois resolve family law matters outside of court through collaborative divorce, mediation, and attorney-guided settlements (uncontested and cooperative divorce). Our team-based model includes involving neutral financial specialists, parenting coordinators, child specialists, and communication coaches — professionals who are selected based on your family’s unique needs.
Here’s why more families are choosing this path.
1 | Save Money with Streamlined Solutions
Litigation is expensive. Attorney fees, expert witnesses, and court costs can quickly become overwhelming. Out-of-court divorce options — like mediation, collaborative, uncontested or cooperative divorce — will streamline the process, often requiring fewer hours and a shared division of responsibilities amongst trained professionals, which will save your family thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.
2 | Resolve Your Divorce Faster
Court timelines are long and unpredictable. Collaborative divorce moves at your pace — not the court’s. When both parties are committed to resolution, cases often conclude in months, not years.
3 | Protect Your Privacy
Court proceedings are public. Out-of-court divorce offers discretion, allowing you to keep financial and personal details confidential. This preserves the dignity of your family, keeping extremely personal details personal and your dirty laundry private. Our clients seem to appreciate preventing unnecessary exposure of their families highly private and personal details during an already difficult time, but more importantly, preventing their family, friends and their children, from gaining access to these details decades down the road.
4 | Customized Agreements that Actually Work
Judges are limited by the law. Hundreds, if not thousands of families will appear before them every year and even though these families will have drastically different circumstances, they will all be fit within the same standard box of options the Judge uses standardly across the board. When you decide to settle your divorce outside of court through an alternative dispute resolution model — you can design creative, practical solutions that reflect your family’s real-world circumstances and not the whims of your statute legislature. Whether it’s a unique parenting schedule, a phased home buyout, or nontraditional support agreements, collaborative divorce in Illinois gives you the flexibility to do what works for your family .
5 | Reduce Emotional Harm to Children
Court battles often escalate tension, and children suffer the consequences. Out-of-court divorce promotes cooperation, not competition. Our model often includes child-focused professionals like parenting coordinators or child specialists who work with parents and actively help them design plans that prioritize their child’s development, emotional well-being and minimizing the harmful impact of divorce. These professionals are typically therapists, who are educated and experienced in assisting you to work through these difficult issues in a healthy manner, with your children’s best interest as the foundation of the process.
Learn more from Collaborative Divorce Illinois: Child Specialist Role.
6 | Gain Clarity with a Financial Neutral
One of the most effective tools in collaborative divorce is using a financial neutral—typically a CPA, CDFA®, or CFP®. They gather and explain financial data for both spouses, offering clear projections and helping prevent misunderstandings about assets, taxes, or long-term affordability. A financial neutral will coordinate the collection of financial documents, creating summaries, balance sheets, support calculations and take the time to explain them and answer any questions. They typically bill a fraction of the attorney’s rate and can reduce the work that both attorney’s would standardly both do in a case, which will save your family a ton of money and time.
More on this from Collaborative Divorce Illinois: Financial Specialist.
7 | The Right Team for the Right Family
At FWLLS, we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. We help our clients to build a customized team for their specific situation:
- A financial neutral for complex and tax-efficient division of assets or businesses
- A child specialist for thoughtful co-parenting strategies and advice
- A divorce coach to support emotional regulation and respectful communication
This structure gives you the support you need — without paying for professionals you don’t. Every team and every case is different. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and these important decisions should be made by you, for the best interest of your family.
Why Families Across Illinois Choose FWLLS
Attorney Mike Biederstadt is a trained collaborative divorce attorney, certified mediator, and Fellow of Collaborative Divorce Illinois. Our firm serves clients in Cook, Will, DuPage, Kane, and Kendall Counties, offering experienced, compassionate guidance that prioritizes long-term outcomes over short-term wins, at the expense of your families future.
Explore our full approach to family law at our Family Law Services page.
Schedule a call now or call (630) 233‑4223.
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This article is a service of Family Wealth & Legacy Legal Solutions (FWLLS). We don’t just draft legal documents—we help families make educated, empowered decisions during life’s most difficult transitions.