More money more problems. Although this adage is not commonly used in the context of divorce, it may ring very true in certain situations. In fact, a brief look at media coverage of high profile divorce cases proves this point. Let's take Tiger Woods' divorce as an example. Just like any divorce, Tiger Woods' divorce involved four basic elements: property division, child support, child custody and alimony. However, instead of costing $25,000 to $30,000 to finalize, the cost of his divorce is estimated at $100 million. Why? The most likely possibility is that a couple's personal assets are directly related to the legal fees and costs of divorce. Put differently, the wealthier an individual or couple is, the more they will likely pay for a divorce.
Fortunately, there are steps that may be taken by parties to high asset divorces to mitigate or limit the costs of divorce.
- Hire a divorce attorney with experience handling high asset divorce matters. Just like you wouldn't hire a contractor with no experience constructing a multilevel office building to build a skyscraper, it is not advisable to engage the services of a divorce attorney who is not familiar with the intricacies associated with dividing complex assets during divorce. Experience matters, and an experienced attorney will be more efficient and more effective, and efficiency and effectiveness often saves money.
- Ask questions. After hiring an experienced divorce attorney, don't be afraid to ask questions and be involved with the divorce process. After all, you know more about your marriage and assets than you attorney ever will. Thus, it is important to not only provide your attorney with complete and accurate details concerning your marriage, but also to ask questions of your attorney to ensure that you and she are on the same page.
- Don't let emotions cloud your judgment. Don't make decisions when you are angry or when your judgment is otherwise clouded by emotion. Most often, decisions made in anger end up resulting in unnecessary litigation, which in turn increases litigation costs.
- Engage the help of other divorce professionals. Accountants, estate planners, investment planners, and real estate agents, are all professional that may aid your divorce attorney to craft the best settlement or litigation strategy for you. Although hiring additional professionals may seem counter intuitive when trying to mitigate costs, the assistance of other professionals may reduce the time your divorce attorney has to devote to researching issues tangential to the divorce, which in turn reduces attorney's fees.
- Weigh costs versus benefits. When deciding on a litigation strategy, always ask yourself and your divorce attorney: "What are the costs associated with this strategy and what are the benefits." For example, if it will cost $5,000 in attorney's fees and other court costs to seek an additional $1,000 in asset distribution, seeking the additional assets is simply economically unfeasible. Don't let your emotions or your desire to "win" overshadow the economic realities associated with divorce.
There is no doubt that divorce is expensive, but as outlined above there are steps that may be taken to mitigate litigation costs in high asset divorce. For more information concerning the special concerns attendant to high asset divorce, and what steps can be taken to mitigate litigation costs, speak to one of our Georgia asset division experts at Meriwether & Tharp.