If you and your spouse have exhausted your efforts to patch things up, then divorce may be in your future. While litigating a divorce in court has a justifiably bad reputation, that is not the only way to part ways. Your divorce can be better as long as you keep the following tips in mind and think of it as a transition into a new life.

Have you considered mediation? If you have a few issues that you and your spouse disagree on then you could be looking at having those problems resolved in family court. Instead, you might consider taking your issues to a divorce mediator. These specially-trained professionals take on a couple's problems one by one and help them to solve things outside of the courtroom. Mediation works so well that some family court judges require it of couples that cannot agree on things like child custody, property, and debt.

Consider collaborating on your divorce. The collaborative method of divorce means that everyone from the attorney for both sides to you and your spouse agrees to work things out and keep the justice system out of it. While similar to mediation in its non-confrontational approach to divorce, this method requires that the divorce lawyers not only agree but that they understand and practice collaborative divorce. When problems come in a collaborative divorce, the two attorneys work with each other and the couple to resolve issues.

Think of the children. No matter how old or mature your children, avoid letting them take part in divorce proceedings. While you should never keep your children in the dark about the divorce, having them watch you and their other parent in court (or in the living room) take on sensitive and emotional issues won't help them accept and deal with things. Do yourself and your kids a favor and spend quality time with them during the divorce so that they have a sense of security and safety.

Is it your fault or their fault? The days of assigning fault in divorce may be coming to an end. While a couple still has the option to file for divorce and name grounds in many states, every state now offers the no-fault divorce option. Unfortunately, those states that still offer divorces with grounds also often base important issues like child custody, debt assignments, and asset divisions on the issue of fault. No-fault divorces offer couples a quicker and less stressful way of divorcing and using other methods for dealing with contentious issues may be superior (such as those listed above).

Speak to your divorce attorney for more information about dealing with divorce court.