Managing the Costs of an Ohio Divorce

We have all heard the alarming statistics that 50% of first marriages, 67% of second marriages, and 73% of third marriages end in divorce. What financial pitfalls can you or someone you care about avoid when going through a divorce?

Think about how you will end your marriage. Do you want to engage in a long, nasty, costly divorce just to make your spouse’s life miserable? If so, who do you think benefits financially? Most people are not aware that a litigated divorce could easily cost each spouse $15,000 or more to complete.

A dissolution of marriage has the same legal effect as a divorce. Once couples realize this fact, they frequently decide to end their marriage by filing for dissolution of marriage. Before you can file for a dissolution, you and your spouse need to agree to a separation agreement that a divides all of your financial assets and liabilities. Moreover, couples who want to have shared parenting need to complete a shared parenting plan that addresses issues such as child support, health care insurance, and a visitation or parenting time plan. In most cases, both the husband and the wife hire attorneys who bill at $200 to $350 per hour to resolve the terms of the separation agreement and shared parenting plan.

Divorce mediation is an alternative process taking hold in Ohio. It allows couples to resolve the division of assets in a cost-effective, non-adversarial manner. Couples who want to retain more of their financial assets hire a trained mediator, rather than a divorce attorney, to assist them in directly negotiating the terms of the separation agreement and shared parenting plan. The couple, not the attorneys or the court, decides how to divide their assets and determine child custody.