Divorces happen all the time. Family lawyers are constantly receiving new clients who need help with their divorce. You might be worried that your divorce will be expensive and take a long time. Luckily, the length of time that it takes to finalize the divorce, and how much you spend in legal fees in primarily up to you and your ex-spouse. Here are a couple mistakes that people make that cause their divorce to take longer and to cost them more.
1. You Hide Things From Your Lawyer and The Other Party
It is vital that when you start the divorce process that you are upfront and honest about your situation. You should have all of your financials readily available, information about affairs, criminal records, or past discretions. If there is a prenuptial agreement you should have it on hand.
The reason for this is that both parties will have to go through discovery. This means that there is a good chance that the lawyers are going to discover everything anyway. They will get all of your account information, debts and assets, information about infidelity and much more. This is why it is better to let the attorneys know what they are working with so they aren't blindsided and can properly prepare with all the correct information.
2. You Want To Take It To Court
If at all possible you should avoid going to court. Court is not the ideal situation for a divorcing couple. If you try to resolve your problems and create the divorce contract in mediation you can both have a say and get a good compromise. It may not be perfect, but it is something both of you can live with. A judge doesn't know your specific situation and you never know which way they are going to lean. You have a 50/50 chance that you will walk away devastated. This is why it is better if you can work it out on your own. it should also be mentioned that litigation fees for a divorce can be outrageous. This means that you can spend thousands of dollars to take your divorce to court, only to have no control over the outcome. This is why you should do everything that you can to resolve it through mediation. It will save you money, time and a lot of stress.
By avoiding these mistakes you can prevent overspending on your divorce and it taking years to resolve.
Share6 October 2015
