My X started with "we can just do it ourselves and save the money" line. I was concerned about the legal issues involved with the property, taxes, and his retirement account. And I guess I knew deep inside that I could not trust him at all. I suggested hiring a lawyer to draft a property settlement agreement for $750 (w/3 revisions included) I did that, he didn't like it and he filed for custody of the kids. Rather than try to negotiate he went right for the jugular. In the end I spent over $6000 and I am sure he spent close to $10,000 and we ended up with a property settlement agreement that could have cost us $750. We didn't end up that far off of what my attorney and I originally proposed. I was not one who asked for over and above what I was entitledd to and planned to negotiate down. I asked for what was reasonable. The only thing that changed from my initial paperwork is that spousal/child support was lower, but that was inevitable because I got a full time job; and he got one more week with the kids in the summer. And that cost roughly $16,000 that could have gone toward our kids college. Ugh, sometimes I want to run him over for that!
"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." Jon Kabat-Zinn
