Many couples who have decided that the healthiest way forward is to seek a divorce struggle with the decision to file marital dissolution paperwork due to the financial burdens traditionally associated with getting a divorce. While it is well understood that the act of dividing one household into two is often very costly, the legal aspects of the divorce process don’t necessarily need to be.
If you and your spouse are committed to keeping the legal side of your divorce cost-effective, there are ways to achieve this goal. With that said, it is important to remember that minimizing relatively minimal upfront costs can cost spouses a great deal in the long run.
When to spend and when to save
Texas is a community distribution approach to the division of marital property and debts. This means that you and your spouse are supposed to divide jointly-owed assets and liabilities 50-50. Even so, there are exceptions and spouses sometimes expend a great deal of time and money settling things. If you and your spouse can agree on the division, you will definitely shorten your costs.
Mutually agreeing on the terms of your property division arrangement will keep your legal costs low. Attorneys charge based on the amount of time that they spend advocating on behalf of their clients’ interests. If a lawyer doesn’t have to go to court to fight a contentious divorce case, they will charge you far less to help you negotiate, mediate and/or formalize the terms of a mutually agreeable non-contentious divorce settlement.
Sometimes, the upfront costs of seeking professional divorce guidance, fighting for assets and/or a child custody arrangement that is fair, accurately appraising the value of your marital estate or otherwise protecting your assets are worth the long-term benefits that such investments provide. Yet, if keeping divorce costs lower is important to you, there are ways to keep these financial challenges in check.