Top 5 reasons to avoid a contested divorce

A contested divorce occurs when you and your partner can’t come to an agreement regarding the terms of your split. Even with the help of your attorneys, you may struggle to compromise on various details. Unfortunately, the more items the two of you disagree on, the harder your divorce will be. Here are the top five reasons it is best to avoid a contested divorce.

Extensive Time Commitment

The more points of contention, the longer it will take to work everything out. What’s more, you and your spouse will each be working with separate attorneys, and they’ll handle all communication for you. Divorce attorneys often have busy schedules, as they are dealing with multiple cases at once. This can cause delays in getting responses to your proposals, suggestions, and questions.

Higher Costs

A contested divorce will require more time, so you’ll have increased attorney fees. The same goes for your spouse. In addition, you’ll have to pay court fees, and these can seriously add up over the course of your divorce proceedings. Each delay in finalizing your divorce will likely end up costing you even more.

The Strain on Your Relationships with Your Spouse and Kids

In a contested divorce, there is typically plenty of fighting over who gets what. This can be particularly troublesome if you have children together. Your kids can pick up on the animosity, and this can be incredibly disruptive to their well-being. What’s more, you and your spouse will have to continue to co-parent, and fighting can make this even more challenging. If you grew close with your spouse’s family during the marriage, you may also find that your relationships with them are no longer what they used to be.

Increased Stress

Long, drawn-out court proceedings can be highly stressful for everyone involved. This stress can carry over into other areas of your life as well. This could cause problems for you in your career, social life, and other areas. Not only that, but constant stress can wreak havoc on your overall health as well. Because of all that, it is in your best interest to minimize your stress level as much as possible throughout the proceedings.

Delay in Moving on with Your Life

Because a contested divorce will likely take a while, you may have to put the rest of your life on hold until everything is finalized. While you may feel emotionally ready to start a new romantic relationship, this might not be the best idea. Your spouse’s attorneys may be looking for anything they can use against you in court, and a new relationship could complicate matters. It is better to wait until after everything is finalized before jumping into something new.

Explore Collaborative Divorce Instead

Rather than putting yourself through the stress and hassle of a contested divorce, you might be better off with a collaborative approach. With this method, you and your spouse will work together with a team of professional to iron out the details of your divorce. Since a collaborative divorce is outside of the courts, this approach minimizes fighting and stress, and it can be much easier on your children.

Here at Ogborne Law, we have helped countless couples work through the details of their divorce, together. You’ll have the chance to voice your concerns and identify the things that are most important to you in the divorce. Of course, your spouse will have the same opportunity as well. The goal of collaborative divorce is to reach an agreement that both partners are happy with while minimizing fighting throughout the process and avoiding a disruptive courtroom process.

We welcome you to get in touch with our firm today to learn more about the collaborative process. Call now to schedule a consultation to discuss your divorce.