The High Cost of Litigated Divorces

In light of the high cost of divorces and alimony litigation, it makes good financial sense to avoid it whenever possible. Recently I came across an excellent article on how a family's assets are depleted in family law proceedings. It was written by Ronald. B. Standler, Aug. 29, 2008 and titled "Litigated Divorce in the USA As a Waste of Assets."

He starts off by saying:
"In states with so-called "equitable distribution" of marital assets, it is well known among attorneys familiar with divorce law that the final division of marital assets is usually close to half to each party. It is unusual for one party at a divorce to receive more than 60% of marital assets.

Given that the total legal fees for a litigated divorce often exceed $160,000 total for both parties, and assuming that a skilled litigator might be able to ge an extra 2% of marital assets awarded to his/her client, a litigated divorce makes economic sense only if the total marital assets are more then four million dollars. Because few families have multi-million dollars in marital assets, it makes good economic sense for nearly all divorces to reach a private settlement, thereby avoiding litigation....." [READ MORE]

###