From time to time I have clients who want to pay me to make the divorce process expensive for their spouse. They want payback for something the spouse has done. Usually it’s cheating, but not always.
I have to tell them my conscience won’t let me do it because I know that, 5 years later, they will look back at the waste and regret it. Not only that, but they may rewrite history in their minds and blame me. It would not be the first time someone has complained that something they insisted on was my fault, even though I advised against it.
It’s not hard to make a divorce take longer and cost more. All that is necessary is to use the rights the court rules and Virginia Code give the parties in a divorce case. For example, we could serve lots of requests for documents. When the other party falters in providing them, we can put hearings on the docket asking a judge to force them to produce the documents. Each hearing like that will cost between $600 and $1,000.
We can insist on taking the depositions of witnesses, including the spouse and the persons with whom they committed adultery. We can insist on a full divorce trial and present all of the evidence of infidelity in court. We could even appeal the judge’s ruling if there is a legitimate argument that one or more of their rulings were incorrect.
The cost for something like that can easily be from $50,000 and $100,000. Rather than pay that money to me, the person would be better off if they just split it with the other party. If they put that money in a suitable investment, they will be far better off in five years than if they waste it on litigation.
