Disagreement Can Significantly Delay Divorce

It is understandable that some spouses who are divorcing are not necessarily in the mindset to cooperate with one another. After all, fighting and disagreements have likely played a role in the decision to end their marriage. However, refusal to come to an agreement regarding one or more issues in a divorce can cause serious delays and can increase the cost of a divorce.

Before a court will grant your divorce, you and your spouse must settle numerous issues including:

• Property and debt division;
• Child support;
• Time-sharing and visitation;
• Parenting plans;
• Alimony.

If any one of those issues cannot be settled out of court, the divorce can be delayed as the court will have to decide for you. You and your spouse will have to present evidence to support your arguments for how you want to resolve the issue at trial and the judge will rule on the matter.

A recent divorce case demonstrates just how much a divorce case can be affected by adversarial disputes instead of cooperation. After 25 years of marriage, the wife of the founder of Cancer Treatment Centers for America filed for divorce. The filing occurred in 2009 and the case is still dragging on due to several disagreements regarding a prenuptial agreement, custody, and division of their millions of dollars in assets. The case has involved numerous hearings, appellate hearings, changes of lawyers, contempt orders, and other complications, and is now finally going to trial over asset and property division. In the meantime, both spouses have likely spent an enormous amount of money, stress, and time dealing with the divorce proceedings and have been unable to remarry since their marriage is not yet dissolved after more than six years.

Finding Ways to Come to a Resolution

It is unreasonable to expect every divorcing couple to agree on every issue. However, there are numerous ways to facilitate cooperation and agreement even if spouses do not initially agree. Some options for couples to resolve issues in a more efficient and amicable way include the following:

• Mediation;
• Collaborative divorce;
• Negotiation.

It is important to explore one or more of these options before you take your case to court for a more costly and time-consuming resolution. In addition, the above methods allow you to settle matters on your own terms because, when you go to court, the ruling is out of your hands.

Discuss Your Case With an Experienced Boca Raton Divorce Attorney Today

At the law office of divorce lawyer Alan R. Burton, we understand the importance of an efficient resolution in a divorce case so that you can move on with your life as soon as possible. However, we also know that agreement is not possible in every case. For this reason, we will help you explore every possible option to come to an agreement, however, are also prepared to represent you in court if it is necessary for a fair and favorable result for you. If you are considering divorce, please call us as soon as possible at 954-229-1660 for a free consultation.