The cost of divorce is an ever-present concern for couples ending their marriages. In Pennsylvania, divorcing couples go through a process called Equitable Distribution, where the assets and liabilities of a marriage are divided between the spouses so they can divorce and go their separate ways. For example, assets can include items like cash and retirement accounts, houses, cars, and personal property, and liabilities can include items like credit card debt, mortgages, and car loans. The terms of how these and other items will be divided results in a written contract between the parties called a Property Settlement Agreement.
Couples have a lot of freedom to negotiate how the assets and liabilities of their marriage will be divided and one major way parties can keep divorce costs down is to communicate with your spouse, to the extent possible, and agree on as many terms of the Property Settlement Agreement as you can. The more spouses can agree and predetermine how they want to divide marital property and debt, the less involvement they will need from their attorney to either negotiate these terms or argue about these terms in court on their behalf.
Agreement and cooperation with your spouse will also help in situations where the custody of minor children is involved. Divorcing couples can always agree on custody schedules for children including week-to-week arrangements, holidays, vacations, and the responsibility of each spouse for extra-curricular activities.
Of course, no two divorces are identical and some couples will be able to work with one another easier than others to communicate about these major items. But generally, even if you cannot agree on all terms of dividing your marital estate, the greater number of issues you and your spouse can discuss and agree on, the less costly the divorce process is likely to be.
If you have questions or concerns about your divorce or other domestic issues, call Brian directly at 610-840-0221 or via email at [email protected].
