How To Fund Your Divorce Litigation

Divorce is a costly process, especially if you don't take measures to rein in the expenses. However, sometimes you can't just afford your divorce even after taking all the possible precautions. In that case, you need to find alternative sources of funds for your divorce; check which of these three options is viable for your case:

Use a Financier

There is a relatively new type of business where financiers pay divorce costs for those who need upfront money for the divorce. Different financiers have different repayment agreements. For example, some will fund your divorce costs in exchange for a portion of your settlement.

This route is especially suitable if you don't have money, but relied on your relatively wealthy spouse during your marriage. Divorcing such a spouse, without a reliable source of funds, isn't advisable. For example, you may have to pay an asset investigator if you believe your partner is hiding some assets from you. Getting finance somewhat levels the playing field.

Get Your Spouse to Cover Your Costs

Another option is to get your spouse to pay for your portion of the divorce costs. Since it's unlikely that your partner will do this willingly, the next best thing is to get the court to order him or her to do it. Whether or not you succeed with this approach depends on different factors, including these two:

• Your income gap – Most judges will be inclined to give in to your request if there is a large income gap between you and your partner. For example, if you were the homemaker and your partner was the breadwinner, it makes sense to let him or her cover your divorce costs (or, at least, part of them) since you are likely to have a huge income gap.
• Your partner's conduct – Some partners unnecessarily drive up divorce costs by engaging in disruptive tactics. For example, your partner may file numerous trivial motions (that the court has to hear), hide assets or refuse to comply with court orders. In such cases, the court is likely to order him or her to pay for your divorce costs as a means of punishing his or her disruptive behavior.

Use Your Marital Assets

Lastly, you can also use the marital assets to foot your divorce costs. Be very careful, however, since some states do not allow the unilateral use of marital assets to pay for the divorce. Laws also differ on the types of divorce costs you can settle with marital assets. For example, you may be allowed to use marital funds to settle attorney fees, but not for expert witness fees. Confirm with your attorney what your state's law says about this issue first before dipping your hands into your marital account.

These issues should form part of your discussions with your divorce lawyer. That way you aren't likely to make an error while settling the divorce costs. For more information, visit http://kamesquire.com/.