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Cost To Consider In a Divorce

Published by monica on Monday, November 26, 2012

Photo credit by DrJohnBullas' buddy icon DrJohnBullas

Divorce can be hell… and that is an understatement. No matter how strong a front you present, there are always so many underlying issues to sort through before, during and after the actual divorce proceedings. Aside from basically uprooting yourself from everything you have grown accustomed to, there are dues to be paid… monetary dues, that is. And we are not even particularly focusing on lawyers’ bills here – although those bills can be quite substantial.

Divorce can literally gnaw at your pockets’ seams and can drain all your savings (if you have them in the first place.) This is the reason why it is sometimes very difficult to regain a foothold after a very lengthy and costly divorce. As a rule of thumb, the faster couples can complete the divorce proceedings, the less they have to spend. Some proceedings can drag on for years and that can seriously amount to several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here are some of the costs to consider before, during and after such proceedings.

A Place To Stay

It is very rare that couples who are undergoing divorce would want to stay in the same living space they have previously shared with each other. More often than not, the human instinct to flee from the physical reminders of a bitterly ending relationship can overwhelm common sense. Finding a new place to stay, and even scouting around for a new job can prove especially abrasive to what little savings you have left.

In most cases, you need to buy all the necessary things again for simple existence, like: a new microwave, a new sofa, even pots and pans, etc. These are the little luxuries you have literally taken for granted when you were still with your partner, and since you are now splitting everything, there are some things you really have to go without.

If you are taking your children with you, then you would need to find new schools where they can enroll in as well. A new place to stay does not negate the fact that you also have to pay up for the other bills attached to your name -- and these can include new utility bills, food bills and even paying for existing debts.

Dealing With Paperwork

It may be true that you can ask your lawyer (or as the term now goes divorce representative) to deal with all the paperwork concerning the legal proceedings. And that can amount to a lot of money. Just imagine just how much your lawyer bills you per hour -- and that means billing you for such innocuous tasks like photocopying your documents or taking them over to the courthouse. If you want to minimize your expenses, you could do these tasks for yourself, but still this will amount to a lot of subtractions on your available financial resources.

If you are working, just think of how many absences and time-offs could you get in order to be at court when the court summons you, or when the other camp asks for a meeting. The answer to that question alone can show you just how much money you stand to lose once the proceedings begins.

Dancing To The Tune Of Legalities

Naturally, when you are facing divorce proceedings, you have to deal with a lot of legal fees. Legal fees may include but not limited to (and certainly not a requirement in all legal proceedings): alimony; attorneys’ fees (and in some cases even divorce financial analysts’ fees); child custody negotiations and child support; divorce settlements; local and state filing fees (varying states have varying rates); settlements regarding division of marital properties; and a host of miscellaneous expenses.

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