Is there an amicable way to end a relationship?

A story released today by Fox News reports that in the U.S. a faster, cheaper and some say friendlier method of ending a marriage is becoming more common for couples who find their love has faded, whether they had a whirlwind wedding or not.

In collaborative divorces both spouses agree not to go to court. Instead, with their lawyers they decide what to do about alimony, child support, division of property and other issues. Sometimes other experts such as psychologists, financial planners, mediators and even ministers are called in to help.

Collaborative divorce takes about 6 to 8 months, as opposed to more than a year for traditional proceedings, according to Christine Whitehead, a Hartford divorce attorney.

And the process costs between $2,500 and $5,000 as opposed to $7,500 or more, according to Peter Wiere, from the Coalition for Collaborative Divorce in California.

"The cost and time factor are very big parts of the appeal," said Frances Z. Calafiore, a founding member of the Collaborative Divorce Lawyers Association in Connecticut. "That's because in all these cases, the parties control the timing, not the courts."

Still, some skeptics argue that collaborative divorce offers fewer legal protections than the standard court proceedings, while others scoff that it's too experimental and new.