To settle or not, that is the question. Ideally, divorcing couples would be able to go through the divorce process quickly. Everything would be divided up easily, split fairly, and you could both move on and start fresh. However, this is often not what divorce looks like for people. Even in marriages that are not ending poorly, old, buried feelings can come out and suddenly one spouse may be asking for something entirely out of left field. Amicable divorces can quickly sour and it is important to be prepared for what to do when a divorce is going poorly. When you are working with a lawyer, they will be able to guide you as to how best to settle or whether it is worth going to court.
What are the benefits of settling a contentious divorce?
There are many benefits to working to try to settle a contentious divorce. In some cases, it may be easier to convince your spouse to settle so that you can get through this as quickly as possible instead of dragging it out in court. After all, you both don’t want to be in the midst of a divorce for months that bleed into years. Especially if you have kids.
The Money. When it comes to divorces, time truly is money. Perhaps one of the things you both can agree on is that you do not want to waste money by going to court. Lawyer fees and court costs can easily make your divorce go from cheap to expensive quickly. It is not impossible for divorces that end up in court to reach six figures.
Time. When you go to court, you are opting to spend more time on the divorce. A trial is lengthy and when you and your spouse are unable to agree on major issues that come up, it can mean going to trial. This commonly leads to over a year in court. The court may not even hear your case for a few months. This can lead to an even more contentious divorce if you both are sitting and stewing for months while you wait to get things started.
The final outcome. Going to court isn’t necessarily all bad. In instances where you and your spouse will simply never agree on a subject, you may need an impartial judge to make this decision. On the flip side, if you go to court, a judge may end up making a decision you disagree with entirely. This could involve alimony, child support, and child custody. A St. Petersburg, FL divorce lawyer like one from The McKinney Law Group knows that it might be easier to get your desired outcome if you are able to settle outside of court. One way to do this is by working with a mediator who can help you and your spouse come to fair agreements.
If you are interested in learning more about how a settlement could benefit you (or why going to court might be better in certain instances), reach out to a lawyer you trust.