The decision to end your marriage started a sequence of events that you hope ends with you starting a new life with as much financial and emotional stability as possible. However, you and your future former spouse are struggling to figure out how to best resolve your issues.
You may not be sure at this point whether it would be worth it to sit down and negotiate a settlement. Your emotional state may be telling you that it would just be easier to let a Georgia court sort out the details, but your head is telling you that there must be a better way. The more information you have regarding working out a settlement versus going to court, the easier your decision may become.
Factors to consider
You have numerous important decisions ahead of you as you separate your life from your spouse. If you have children, you have additional concerns. Before making the decision whether to negotiate or go to court, consider the following:
- Reduce stress: You are probably stressed out enough right now, and preparing for an adversarial court hearing would only add to it. Even though the thought of negotiating a settlement comes with its own stress, it tends to be much less since you and your spouse retain control over the outcome, learn to compromise and take the time to communicate, which could serve you both in the long term.
- Save money: In the majority of cases, negotiating a settlement is much less expensive than going to court. You will have enough financial changes ahead of you without diminishing the assets you have paying for a long court case.
- Save time: Taking your divorce to court will undoubtedly extend the time you will remain married and at odds with your soon-to-be ex-spouse.
The other thing you give up by going to court is control over the outcome of your case. While it may seem the path of least resistance to wait for the court to make decisions for you, you may end up regretting that decision in the future. If you and your spouse are able to discuss which way to resolve your issues, then it’s possible you could successfully work out a settlement.
However, neither of you should feel pressured to enter into negotiations that you suspect will not end in a settlement, but instead just cause more fighting. If you feel that the best way to resolve your marital issues is to go to court, then that is what you should do. In any case, you would be wise to take steps to protect your rights and gain as complete an understanding of your options as possible before moving forward.