Divorce is stressful -- there is no doubt about that. There are so many things that you and your soon-to-be-ex have to decide on. How will your assets be split? Are you going to keep the house? If you do keep the house, who will live there? How will you share your parenting time? Will one of you receive spousal support? The list is extensive, and chances are, you and your ex will not see eye-to-eye on all of these issues. Many attorneys and the court system are of the opinion that spouses working together to reach a divorce settlement without court involvement is the more favorable option, but sometimes that just is not possible. If you are planning on getting a divorce, here are a few situations in which you may need to opt for litigation, rather than negotiation or mediation:
You Were in a Violent or Abusive Marriage
If you were in a marriage that ended because of violence or abuse, you should probably skip negotiation and head straight for litigation. In many cases, marriages that involved either of those two things also involved an imbalance of power between spouses. If you feel like you are unable to advocate for your wants or needs, you will never get what you need out of your divorce if you try to negotiate with an abusive spouse.
You and Your Spouse Have Trouble Cooperating
It is highly unlikely that you and your spouse will agree on everything in your divorce. While disagreements are to be expected, the intensity of those disagreements is what you should be concerned with. If your spouse is being so uncooperative that you are unable to come to a settlement, you may need to opt for litigation instead.
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