Choosing the right battles during property division

During the course of a Florida divorce, many spouses have a hard time making rational decisions. The end of a marriage is an emotionally turbulent time, and very few people can move through the entire process without encountering at least a few roadblocks. Engaging in heated property division arguments is a prime example, and is a very common occurrence for divorcing spouses.

For some, feeling taken advantage of or bullied leads to a tipping point where the spouse digs in his or her heels and refuses to give anymore, on any issue. When that occurs during property division negotiations, couples can find themselves fighting over items that will later seem utterly ridiculous. At the time, however, it can feel absolutely necessary to hold on to the wedding china or a piece of art that once hung over the mantle.

In many cases, the value of the item that the couple is fighting over pales in comparison to the legal fees that are accumulated during the battle. That can come as a very nasty surprise to spouses who have not really thought about how hourly billing works. In many cases, the party who ultimately “wins” the item in question would much prefer to have had lower legal costs, instead.

The best way to avoid undue property division arguments is to try and work together to iron out many of the details before involving an attorney. Of course, when there are highly valuable items in the mix, or when one party refuses to behave in a fair or just manner, then involving one’s Florida divorce attorney may be unavoidable. In many cases, however, there are ways of working through the division of personal property that is far easier than taking the matter to court or engaging in lengthy negotiations.

Source: The Huffington Post, “10 Things I Learned As A Divorce Attorney“, A. Rodriguez, Dec. 6, 2016

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