The answer to who pays for a high-conflict divorce is that everyone does. Both divorcing spouses pay in cost, time and acrimony for a high-conflict divorce, which can take longer, drain the divorcing couple’s resources and create even more bad feelings between the divorcing couple. For that reason, divorcing couples should have some strategies available for how to minimize conflict during their divorce.
Who suffers in a high-conflict divorce?
Divorcing couples have a litany of important issues to resolve, including property division, child support, child custody and spousal support. Each issue can be emotional and contentious.
The more that the divorcing couple engages in conflict on these issues, the longer the divorce can take, which can drain even more of the divorcing couple’s resources that each will need after the divorce as they prepare to set up separate households.
There are several strategies divorcing couples can use during their divorce that can help minimize conflict and cost. These can include planning ahead for their divorce so they can understand their financial picture after the divorce is final and prioritize their interests in advance.
They can also hire professionals, such as counselors, to help them handle the emotional aspects of divorce and focus on relying on positive coping skills that do not include needing the last word on every issue, which will keep them solution-focused.
Fighting about each divorce-related issue during a high-conflict divorce can be counterproductive for the divorcing couple. For that reason, trained guidance can help divorcing spouses navigate the process with their best interests in mind.