Divorce is financially difficult. You spend a lot of money, sometimes on credit. You also have to split everything you earned during the marriage, from your retirement savings to your home equity. Some people even wind up considering bankruptcy after their divorce. The potential expenses are numerous, although they increase in situations involving high assets and a lot of fighting.
No amount of money should be more important than your health and happiness. You shouldn’t avoid filing for divorce just because you worry about how much it will cost. Still, it’s important to have a realistic idea of what divorce will mean for your financial situation. So long as you plan ahead, there may be steps you can take to minimize the cost.
What do people typically pay to get divorced?
The average cost of divorce varies dramatically from family to family. Most couples can anticipate spending about $15,000 each to end their marriage. Couples that have long legal battles or complicated property might have to pay a lot more than that. The more issues the courts have to decide for you, the more you’ll pay in court costs and lawyer fees.
The outcome of your divorce will determine your future stability
When you realize that the total cost of a divorce might be enough to put a down-payment on a house, it’s only natural to want to minimize those expenses. It is possible to keep costs low without putting yourself at risk.
Foregoing legal representation, especially in contested divorce proceedings, can put you in a vulnerable place. Instead of trying to keep costs low by not working with professionals, the better option might be to try to work with your ex and their lawyer for an uncontested divorce. Through mediation, arbitration or negotiations, you can set all of your own terms for custody and property division.
Uncontested divorce filings are often faster and much less expensive than drawn-out divorce battles. Even if you and your ex can’t agree on many things, you might agree that you’d rather use your share of the marital assets to set yourself up for the future rather than try to litigate over your past.