Before finally boiling over and filing for divorce, resentment and animosity can fester and stew between spouses as tensions and tempers rise and their patience for each other wears thin. Once a divorce has been agreed upon by one or both parties, fear and anger may take over as each spouse worries about what they’ll lose in the divorce, if it will be fair to them, and in some cases, how they can try to make sure the other party receives less than their fair share or nothing at all.
While it’s a dream scenario for a couple to amicably split and not try to ruin each other’s lives, any Denver divorce attorney knows it’s a rare occasion and that you will likely go through tense, if not outright fierce, negotiations and may need to go through the judicial system. You may be wondering what the harm is in trying to make sure you’re soon-to-be-ex-spouse gets little to nothing in the divorce, it’s not like you’ll ever see them or need to deal with them again. While that’s partially true, it usually isn’t the case.
There are a number of reasons that people will try to use the scorch and burn approach to their Denver divorce. In most cases, it’s as a result of infidelity (having an extramarital affair), or as a means of retribution for emotional and/or physical abuse. These spouses feel they’re entitled to everything as far as marital assets go and will try to plan with their Denver divorce attorney to ensure it happens.
Some individuals will employ the same strategy when it comes to child custody. In the event that abuse occurred in the home, it often is best to present this information to the courts to legally obtain custody of your children to avoid any potential or further pain and suffering. However, trying to achieve full custody via scorch and burn tactics during divorce without any further justification than anger or revenge will result in the same consequences as it does with marital assets.
Now that we’ve looked at what scorch and burn is when it comes to divorce and how a spouse could reason to employ it, we get to the reason not to use it: it makes divorce proceedings infinitely more difficult as the Denver divorce attorneys need to go back and forth over terms and concessions to try and resolve the matter. By working with your spouse (one last time), you can expedite the process and save yourself time, stress, and money. The longer proceedings are dragged out, the more it will cost both parties. Additionally, your children will suffer as their parents ruthlessly try to ruin the other and they exist in a painful limbo.
Divorce isn’t easy. It’s often a miserable experience that breaks you down as a person and leaves you on your own to rebuild the pieces over a long period of time. You need to worry about where you’ll live, custody, asset division, finances, and much more, but you can ease the burden by consulting a trusted Denver divorce attorney to assist you through the process and set you up for success to start your new life. If you’re considering filing for divorce, or are in the middle of divorce proceedings, contact our offices immediately to learn how we can assist you.