If you are headed for divorce, you are certainly going to want to save money in every way possible. That being said, the first thing that you should do is clearly define what your goals are.
Ask yourself the important questions: What do I want for my children? What do I want for my retirement plans and investments? What do I want to happen to the family home? These are the biggest areas of contention.
If you and your spouse are headed for court, do your best to try and hammer out the details beforehand. You do not want the judge to try and figure out 5, 10, or 20 years of marriage in a couple of hours, because if that happens, it will end up costing you.
Many experts say that fees can be double for litigated divorces where judges have to decide on a settlement.
In more complex divorces, there are certainly valid things that a divorce attorney will have to fight for, but we do not recommend fighting over the little things. You shouldn't be fighting over iPads, favorite recliners, or appliances. If you fight about those things, the fight will cost more than replacing the items.
What to Avoid in Divorce
Here are some things that you should not do during your divorce:
- Do not hide assets because the other side will find out.
- Do not hide information from your spouse or their attorney.
- Do not repeat your spouse's work, for example, if they paid for a valuation of assets, it's probably in your best interests to use it.
- Stick with one divorce attorney if possible. If you hire a new lawyer in the middle of your case, you will have to pay to get them caught up.
- If you have a house or business, agree to a mutual appraiser.
We want to end off with a special note about children. If you have them, try to avoid fighting over them. It's not about the added expense, it's about doing what's best for the children and who is best for them.
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