Divorce in Ohio and around the country can be prohibitively expensive, lengthy, and dissatisfying for both spouses. People who want to end their marriages might want to consider a cooperative dissolution process instead of a divorce. Choosing this method of ending your marriage can also help to save substantial expenses while allowing you to be more satisfied with the results.
Divorce vs. dissolution
In Ohio, a divorce involves alleging grounds of fault. The fault grounds are legal grounds for ending the marriage and include such things as adultery, extreme cruelty, absence for a year or more, imprisonment, grossly neglecting marital duties, and others. The fault-based divorce process requires litigation and is adversarial. Going through a divorce in Ohio can be very expensive and drive up your attorney’s fees. A dissolution is a no-fault way to end your marriage. In a dissolution proceeding, the couple will wait to file the petition until they have reached an agreement on all of the issues, including the division of property, child custody and support, and alimony. Choosing a dissolution process can help to save substantial sums, but it is not appropriate for everyone.
Other ways to reduce the costs of ending a marriage
There are some other ways people can minimize the costs involved with ending their marriages. Some of these include the following:
• Getting copies of all financial documents before asking your spouse for a divorce
• Limiting the number of phone calls or emails to your attorney
• Using paralegals whenever possible for basic paperwork
• Rolling 401(k) accounts over to IRAs to avoid the need for QDROs
Ending your marriage is stressful enough without having to also worry about the expense involved. By choosing the right process and taking other steps to reduce the costs involved with dissolving your marriage, you and your spouse might save significant amounts of money while also being happier with the results than if you leave it up to a judge to make decisions for you.
