A divorce will likely have a significant impact on your finances both now and in the future. In addition to potentially losing assets, you’ll have to account for the direct costs associated with ending your marriage. For example, you may need to pay for the services of a mediator or pay court costs if the matter goes before an Oklahoma judge.
Factors that impact cost
There are a number of factors that might impact the cost of your divorce such as an uncooperative spouse. If your spouse isn’t willing to negotiate in good faith, you may have no choice but to go to court. At a minimum, you may need to see a mediator multiple times as opposed to negotiating a divorce settlement in a single afternoon. Legal fees and other costs may push the cost of a contested divorce over $10,000. If your spouse is cooperative, it may be possible to end your marriage for $1,000 or less.
Complex cases may cost more
If you and your spouse own expensive or complex assets, it may be necessary to hire an appraiser, a forensic accountant or both. You may also need to pay to get additional copies of a deed to a property, title to a car or other documents relevant to your case. Finally, there is a chance that you’ll trigger a taxable event when transferring assets pursuant to a divorce.
While a divorce may be expensive, there are steps that you might take to reduce the final cost. Those steps may include pursuing mediation over litigation and obtaining documents prior to starting any type of legal proceedings. Doing so may make it easier to create a legal position that your spouse may be more likely to agree to without excessive negotiation.