Category: Family Law Posted on Jun 28, 2015

Ending a High Net-Worth Divorce in a Reasonable Time

When two people enter into a high-wealth divorce, they often have little concern over the cost of the attorney’s fees. This allows a case to drag on and on, with no resolving of issues. Since the money is not a factor, one or both of the parties can continue to waste a very valuable resource: time. Wasting time can be a very detrimental strategy for a lawyer representing their client. It can have a negative impact on the welfare of the children involved, it can heighten animosity towards the two parties, and it can create frustration with your own attorney. Follow these tips to help resolve your high-income divorce in a reasonable amount of time:

Resolve Issues Before Litigations and Trial

It is important to work on resolving the issues the two parties can agree on before having to be litigated. If the people involved can agree child support and visitations with the children, then it is beneficial to be taken care of right away. If the issue of one car can be resolved, but another one can’t, still go ahead and settle the one that can. If you continue to hash out these details that can be resolved, lawyer’s fees will drop dramatically, and the likelihood of settling more issues increases.

It is unreasonable to expect that all issues will be settled without litigation. However, from experience, the more issues the two parties can resolve – the more issues down the road can be resolved. Settling even small issues creates a snowball effect, and adds momentum to the resolution of other issues, all while building trust of civility between the people involved in the divorce.

Don’t Get In a Spending War

You do not impress anybody by attempting to bully your spouse by outspending. In some cases, the court could notice, take offense to it, and order you to pay both yours and your spouse’s legal fees.

If you are the main breadwinner, it is reasonable to expect to contribute to some of your spouse’s legal fees. But if it is not required, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have unlimited funds. If a judge thinks you are attempting to be a financial bully, they could easily impose monetary sanctions to pay for the legal fees of your spouse.

If you are ever advised by a lawyer to try to outspend the other party, turn around and run.

Don’t Let the Other Attorney Drag the Case On

Unfortunately, not all lawyers abide by common best practices. Sometimes, if a lawyer notices their client is willing to spend whatever it takes without blinking an eye, they will drag out a case to benefit their wallet. They will get in the way of simple resolutions, add flames to the fire in disputes, and generally seem unethical.

There are many tactics to dragging out a case, including outlandish legal stances, encouraging litigation, rejecting settlements, delaying hearings for poor reasons, and many more. It is important that you and your lawyer recognize these tendencies, and seek out retribution for these actions of misconduct.

Retain a Divorce Lawyer With Experience In High-Wealth Divorce

At StangerLaw LLC, we believe in settling your case as quickly and efficiently as possible. In no circumstances should it ever be dragged on longer than necessary. Contact us today to find out more information about the steps we take to make sure your divorce doesn’t get extended any longer than it needs to.

Bruce Stanger

My litigation experience includes family law, divorce, product liability, construction law, professional negligence, shareholder disputes, legal malpractice, and general commercial litigation.