The July 23, 2019, interview in which David Anderson, CPA, CFE, CVA, and principal of David Anderson and Associates, explains and discusses the topic of collaborative divorce has been posted to the home page of his corporate website – davidandersonassociates.com.
Anderson, a Philadelphia forensic accountant who provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, was interviewed on the RadioVision TV Network by Bill Borton on the “Live Better Longer” show, a half hour online broadcast that is dedicated to helping baby boomers achieve and live longer and happier retirements.
During his 20-minute discussion with Borton, Anderson, a Certified Valuation Analyst who also is a member of the Collaborative Law Professionals of Southeastern Pennsylvania, talks about the differences between a standard court-administered divorce and a collaborative divorce.
The alternative process of collaborative divorce allows a couple to control the timing and terms of their divorce as opposed to having a judge or third-party mediator determine those outcomes.
A traditional divorce may be more appropriate in such cases where couples, as Anderson said, “have significant enmity between them,” cases which involve emotional or physical abuse, or when the spouses cannot even talk to each other.
A collaborative divorce, Anderson said, “has to be an amicable” because each party and their individual collaboratively trained attorneys work together as a team. This team can be expanded to include collaboratively trained financial specialists (such as a business valuation expert like Anderson), and collaboratively trained coaches (who are either child specialists who help with parenting plans and custody arrangements or mental health professionals who help the parties address emotional issues.
All the team members in a collaborative divorce, said Certified Valuation Analyst Anderson, have undergone specialized training which helps foster cooperation, respect, and open exchange. Because each spouse is represented by a collaboratively trained attorney, each can feel confident their own views will be adequately considered, and their own needs will be adequately addressed by the team.
The cost for the business valuation expert in a collaborative divorce can be less, because only one expert is retained instead of two, and because the cost of depositions and/or courtroom testimony can be eliminated.
Finally, Anderson explained the difference between collaborative divorce and a mediated divorce – another alternative method of marital dissolution. In mediation, he said, the process is guided by the mediator. Depending on the type of mediation, either the mediator, the couple themselves or some combination of the mediator and the couple make decisions as to timing, support, custody, and division of assets; in a collaborative divorce, all decisions are made by the couple. Additionally, while each spouse is represented by a collaboratively trained attorney in a collaborative divorce, there is no requirement in the mediation process that each spouse be represented by an attorney.
If you need a business valuation professional in Philadelphia, or if you require any other services of a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at david@davidandersonassociates.com.
About David Anderson & Associates
David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, fraud deterrence, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services. Company principal David Anderson is a forensic accounting expert in Philadelphia who has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Valuation Analyst and a Certified Fraud Examiner in Philadelphia.
