An unconventional way to end a marriage, former couple Barry and Linda Beazley have flown to Hawaii for a relaxing holiday to celebrate their divorce.
Married for 15 years, the Beazley’s relationship came to a natural end when they realised they had grown apart and wanted different things in life.
Linda raised the idea of separation with her husband, and while at first Barry was shocked and angry, he came to realise that Linda was right.
While they both agreed that the breakup was no one’s fault in particular, they had quite a large sum of assets, and wanted professional help with filing the divorce and negotiating property. They made an appointment with a well known family lawyer, however when they asked him about compromise, he didn’t seem very keen on it. He suggested they go through the court to have a judge divide their assets between them.
Linda, having heard horror stories from her friends about their experience divorcing through the courts, researched alternatives to the traditional lawyer and court option. She came across the collaborative divorce offering of MELCA. Curious about their system, they met with the MELCA team to discuss their situation.
“When I read about what MELCA does, I had my doubts,” Linda said. “How can any divorce be collaborative? Barry and I had already begun to argue with the stress of finding a lawyer, and the thought of spending so much money on our divorce. So going into our first meeting, I was hopeful, but cautious.”
MELCA offered a fixed price and a peaceful outcome. It gave the couple a chance to talk through any problems they had and make sure their assets were divided fairly, ultimately saving them money.
They calculated that they would have spent $180,000 had they gone down the traditional track, and they decided to use some of that money to celebrate their divorce and new beginnings by holidaying in Hawaii – something they’d talked about for a long time.
Having just returned from their divorce-moon, Linda says, “it was such a lovely trip, and a great way to say goodbye to our marriage and welcome in our new friendship and new beginnings.”
Call (03) 9078 6980 or enquire online for the complete personalised approach to separation without court.