After reading your comments about "BOTH" winning...I am going to revise the letter a bit. Changes are highlighted in bold.
REVISED DRAFT #2
Mr. Loco,
I wanted to take a moment to collect my thoughts and get back to you.
First of all, I recognize that the marriage has not been working well for some time which greatly saddens me. As you can see, it is not that simple nor is it easy to dissolve a long-term marriage such as ours. When one takes into the consideration the division of assets we have accumulated over the years and the breakdown of the family unit, I have retained the services of my own attorney to advise and assist me in navigating through such a complex process.
From this point and on, it would be helpful that all matters related to the dissolution of the marriage are to be communicated through our own respective attorneys. In this way, the lawyers can collaborate to ensure a mutually satisfactory agreement that benefits everyone within reason. This means that all communications related to the divorce proceedings, division of assets, and other relevant matters are to be handled strictly through our lawyers. This is the best course of action given the highly emotional nature of this process. I know you feel differently and I respect that.
Here is the contact information for my new attorney: XXXX
As for our children, I believe it is important that we continue in our parenting role as we have been doing over the last several months and I wanted to check in with you to keep our lines of communication open on this front as Mom and Dad. It is important that the kids have both of us involved in their lives as co-parents. I know that we both want to be there for them as you know that they are our greatest blessings.
Thanks for your understanding during a challenging time as this is obviously a new territory for all of us in the family which cannot be easy at all.
