Litigation - You won a pie eating contest. First place? More pie!

I took the title of this blog from a friend of mine. He used it to describe making partner at a law firm. To make partner you keep long hours and work hard. Your prize once you are a partner? Long hours and more work! The point is, was the struggle worth the prize?

Is it truly worth fighting in your divorce case? That is a much different analysis. If you are litigating the value of a business or another variable asset then, yes it might be worth fighting. Same goes for dissipation of assets.

In other cases, particularly debt cases or where there are very few marital assets of value, make sure you are not fighting for the sake of fighting. In most life decisions the "cost of doing business" is considered. For example, does it make sense to pay $5000 in closing costs to refinance a mortgage if the amount you pay monthly is only reduced by $5? Of course the answer is no. The same is true with your divorce case. Should you each spend $5,000 each to fight over a $5,000 difference? No. What about a $10,000 difference? That is a little more difficult, but if $10,000 is your "best day" in court the answer is still no, because you have to consider the risk of not getting your best day. $100,000? Yes. If you only have to spend $5000 to risk taking an extra $100,000, then from a risk-reward analysis you should take the risk.

If you are litigating custody or parenting time, then the analysis is more subjective. Is it worth $5000 to get one more day each week with your child? Most people would say yes. How about one day more per month? How about one day more per year? Ask yourself the same questions but consider a much large sum of money, like $20,000.

Finally, to throw a wrench of this entire discussion, consider whether you have the stomach to fight. Can you bear your divorce case pending for 1 year or more? Consider whether an eighteen month custody battle is worth it. Will you be able to co-parent with him/her afterwards? How will the battle affect the child?

Your goals and the risk versus reward of achieving those goals should control your decisions in your divorce case. Don't get caught up in the heat of the moment and lose sight of what you are fighting for.