Some Texas divorces will reach critical junctures where the two spouses will need to decide whether to work towards a settlement or go to trial. While having a court hearing is an option, the spouses should do everything that they can to avoid going in front of a judge. There is a reason why nearly all divorce cases settle out of court.
The most obvious cost of a divorce trial is the financial one as each party must pay considerable legal fees. Spouses often underestimate how much this will cost until they get the bill in their inbox. Moreover, there is also an emotional cost to a divorce trial. A hearing will literally take over someone’s life as they are continuously preoccupied with their legal battle until it is decided. This causes nonstop stress for the duration of the trial.
Further, a divorce trial will likely end the chance that the parties can salvage their post-divorce relationship. This matters when there are children in the picture that the parents must raise together. The trial will leave lasting bitterness that they may never be able to move past. This is why the parties need to be thinking about how they will reach a settlement. They should only opt for a trial as an absolute last resort if they have exhausted all attempts to resolve their matter amicably.
Even a divorce attorney could advise their client that they do not want to have a trial as their primary option. The lawyer may assist their client as they work to settle their case and might suggest various ideas for how the two parties can reach a deal. The lawyer might lay out the costs of the trial to their client so that they can do a risk-reward analysis in their decisions about the best course of action.