Finalizing a divorce can cost thousands of dollars or more, depending on the circumstances of the case. If you're moving forward with a divorce, understanding the costliest parts of dissolving your marriage can help you budget for life during and after divorce more effectively, helping you curate the ideal future for yourself.
To schedule a consultation with our team for your divorce, contact us online or via phone at (626) 340-0955.
Attorney & Court Costs Will Ramp Up, Especially for Contested Divorces
If you want to try and keep the cost of your divorce low, you should try and resolve your differences with your spouse using a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) such as mediation, collaborative law, or arbitration.
All of these methods of ADR give you a way to negotiate equitable terms for an uncontested divorce with your spouse and resolve your differences outside of the courtroom, which can help you save a significant amount of money on your divorce.
If you aren't able to get an uncontested divorce, you'll need to battle it out in court with your spouse via contested divorce. The average cost of a contested divorce in the U.S. is $15,000, and a relatively significant portion of that sum can be found in attorney and court fees.
Of course, it's important to note that an attorney is essentially an investment. It may be better for you long-term - both financially and health-wise - to pay for an attorney to represent you if your spouse refuses to negotiate with you or tries to strong-arm their way to an unfair resolution. But in general, getting an uncontested divorce can help you save a significant amount of money.
Talk to the Experts
Individuals such as Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and appraisers can be a huge boon during the divorce process.
One of the most difficult aspects of divorce, for many people, is accurately predicting how it will impact their financial future. An accountant can help you understand how your divorce will affect issues such as taxes, while an appraiser can help you evaluate the cost of your property to understand how much you'll exit the divorce with.
Additionally, if you believe your spouse is attempting to hide assets from you, you may wish to look into working with a forensic accountant who can uncover those hidden assets, enabling you to maximize returns on your property division case.
Try and Find a Way to Solve Marital Debt
One of the most unexpected costs of divorce for many couples is finding ways to pay off marital debt.
When couples divorce, they often have to deal with separating jointly owned assets, such as cars and houses. In many cases, to name an asset as one person's property, all debt associated with that property must be eliminated. This can lead to situations where one party who put their name down as a co-lease on a vehicle suddenly finds themselves liable for thousands of dollars in outstanding payments if they want to disown said vehicle.
Even if you and your spouse aren't on the best terms, trying to work together to resolve outstanding marital debt will only benefit you both in the long run. Try and put together an effective strategy for managing and eliminating marital debt, or work with a financial professional to understand how you can do shortly after resolving your divorce in a worst-case scenario where maintaining joint ownership of some property is inevitable.
At Gille Kaye Law Group, PC, our attorneys will help you find the best path forward in your divorce, working with you to obtain cost-effective results that support your future. To schedule a consultation with our team, contact us online or via phone at (626) 340-0955.