The entire divorce industry is scummy. Sorry
@TheWorm but it is.
I saw a stat that says divorces now take about 33% of the combined estate leaving each person the same amounts the lawyers get and there is NO NEED for it.
I've seen so many agreed to friendly divorces turn bad as soon as the lawyers stir everyone up, purposely. Are you sure you want to voluntarily settle? I think I can get you more but not once you factor myself and the other lawyer will gut the estate.
Law is based on precedent and there is nothing novel or new in divorce at this point. Everything should be determined via precedent. You are divorcing than a Arbiter reviews precedent and determines how the estate will be divided and what payments are owed. You insist on your day in court, fine that is your right but if the judge finds the arbiter was correct and sides with them then the petitioning party pays all the legal costs from their portion.
But divorce law is one of the most lucrative areas. And the law society is all lawyers. And politicians are mostly lawyers. So none of them will do the right thing and cut the lawyers down or out of the process reducing the billings.
(and this from someone who, with his ex wife wrote his own divorce and we JOINTLY hired one lawyer to review and advise us jointly to avoid fighting and completed our entire divorce for under $10K)