While divorces are often expensive in terms of the amount of emotional output required to manage them, they’re also expensive in terms of dollars. Many people go into the process of divorce and end up suffering from sticker shock. Essentially, it is possible for divorces to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in some instances. However, there are also ways to manage these costs. According to Forbes Magazine, the cheapest divorce is the most amicable divorce.
What this means is that you want to avoid a trial divorce at all costs. Taking a divorce to trial is easily the most expensive way to go through the process. Less expensive ways involve collaborative divorce and mediation. Collaborative divorce is a mid-priced option that involves both parties having legal representatives, but instead of going through a trial the lawyers negotiate with each other to the benefit of their client.
The least expensive way to have a divorce is to go the mediation route. Mediators do not even have to be lawyers, but they can be. In a mediated divorce, both parties will communicate directly with each other. Obviously, this is not possible during an extremely acrimonious divorce. However, if you and your ex-spouse can decide upon some common goals (the welfare of the children, ensuring that the end result of the divorce is equitable, etc.) and work toward those, the divorce process becomes much less expensive.
Having well-organized finances also helps to keep the cost down. Lawyers spend tons of billable hours each year simply trying to get a clear picture of finances during divorce. If your finances are already well-organized, you will save a lot of money.