How To Ensure a Fair Settlement in Your Divorce
Divorce can be stressful for a number of reasons, one of which is the worry that you may have nothing left at the end of it. For this reason, a major concern for most people going through a divorce is how to ensure a fair settlement. Below, we will discuss the ways that you can feel more secure that the settlement is fair, courses of action that may lead to better outcomes for all parties involved, and additional strategies to consider when negotiating your settlement.
Involve Divorce Finance Professionals
There are a number of scenarios when it makes sense to involve a financial professional in your divorce case from complex finances, to confusion around what property you have and why you would want one asset over another. Additionally, one of the best ways to feel more certain your settlement is fair is to involve professionals who have a strong background in finances during a divorce. You will need a competent attorney involved in your case, but it can also be helpful to have a financial expert on your team. Including a financial expert will help you to fully understand all aspects of the finances that are available for division and feel secure making decisions that will affect your financial future.
Try to Settle Out of Court
Ultimately, the law and the court system are in place to help protect people from being taken advantage of. The court may need to be involved in certain cases, but there are advantages to settling out of court. From a financial standpoint, settling out of court is generally more cost-effective. Taking your case to court will likely also be more time-consuming, whereas settling may be a quicker and simpler process. To settle out of court, you need professionals on your team who can keep the process moving along while also ensuring that you are not skipping any important steps along the way.
At Alternative Divorce Solutions, we help facilitate the division of assets to ensure that everything is accounted for and that the proper valuations are being used. To make sure that we are doing our due diligence, we go through copies of your account statements, bank statements, tax returns, credit card statements and more to verify that all information is accurate and up to date. If one party is not willing to submit the proper financial documentation, we work with your legal counsel to subpoena the documents needed to keep things moving forward. We coordinate with legal counsel when crafting settlement offers and review counter proposals to provide financial advice as to the ramifications of accepting any settlement. If you reach an impasse and cannot come to an agreement, it may be time to take your case to court. If you are not sure which route will work best for you, you can take a look at this article, which discusses a few of the differences between mediation, collaborative divorce, and litigation.
Settlement Negotiation Strategies to Consider
In addition to researching which method of divorce is right for you, it is also helpful to get all of your financial documents in order and to have a good understanding of your debts and assets. As we discussed in this article, it can be difficult to define what “fair” means in a settlement. One of the most helpful steps you can take, alongside working with a financial professional, is determining what you want at the end of your divorce. Although some couples want to go with a 50/50 split, a fair settlement does not necessarily mean an equal settlement. You and your spouse will need to determine what each of you wants at the end of the divorce process, and work with professionals who can help you prioritize your wants while also looking out for your best interests.
A fair settlement looks different for everyone. If you are ready to figure out what it looks like for you, contact us today to schedule your free initial consultation call. We look forward to working with you to craft a settlement that you feel confident about.
