You may have accumulated significant assets during your marriage, but when it comes to your divorce, less is more.
Litigation can be lengthy, expensive and combative. If you and your spouse can work together, you can negotiate a divorce settlement on your own terms.
Seeking financial security
Having accumulated considerable wealth during your marriage, your primary objective is to maintain financial security as you enter the next phase of your life. Property division is an important part of the divorce process. Rather than submit to the decisions of a judge, you and your spouse can pursue a divorce settlement outside of court. With the help of your attorneys, you can negotiate the division of your assets.
Planning for the future
During the negotiations, keep in mind that you must consider making decisions that will affect your future. For example, you might think you want to keep the marital home. Remember that this is an illiquid asset. You would have the expense of upkeep and property taxes. If you have minor children, another consideration concerns the cost of health insurance, daily out-of-pocket expenses, and, in time, the costs associated with a college education. During your negotiations, think, too, about the effect of taxes on the assets you wish to claim.
Deciding the outcome
If you and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse can work together to develop a satisfactory divorce settlement, you can do so privately without having to make your divorce proceedings public in a court of law. Negotiating your divorce settlement will be less stressful and certainly less expensive than litigation. It may present the perfect opportunity for you to end one phase of your life and begin another amicably and with greater confidence.
