Negotiation Tactics to Avoid During Divorce

Going through a divorce can be an incredibly stressful and emotional time. When negotiating the terms of your divorce settlement, tensions run high, and you may be tempted to use questionable tactics to gain an advantage over your former spouse.

However, these questionable negotiation strategies can backfire and leave you worse off.

We are a team of Fort Worth divorce lawyers that have seen it all, including the darker tactics others take. Here’s a look at some underhanded divorce negotiation tactics to avoid.

Hiding Assets and Income

Just and fair division is the goal when you’re dividing marital assets; this includes income you’ve brought in for the duration of your marriage.

One of the most common tactics is hiding assets and income so your spouse underestimates your net worth. We’ve seen people try to open secret bank accounts, transfer property deeds to relatives, or fail to disclose investments and earnings from a side business.

While it’s expected to keep some financial information private during divorce talks, outright hiding assets and lying about income is illegal. If discovered, someone may face penalties, lose credibility in future negotiations, and have settlement terms overturned.

Exaggerating Expenses

Let’s jump right into another financial snafu! Inflating expenses is another way one spouse may dishonestly attempt to hide money from the other. This is usually attempted when a person increases the amounts they claim to spend on necessities like housing, medical costs, and childcare.

Lying about expenses can mean the lying party could keep more of the marital assets. However, getting caught fabricating expenses can seriously damage any good faith between parties during settlement talks.

Our divorce team believes in keeping anything remotely financial as honest and fair as possible. After all, everyone deserves to start the next chapter of their lives with a decent head start.

Before negotiations start, review all financial documents between you and your spouse with your lawyer and ensure you clearly understand who pays for what services and costs every month in your marriage.

Skipping Documentation

Failing to provide documentation for financial disclosures is also considered deceptive. Someone may “forget” to bring proof of an expense or omit attachments proving an asset’s worth.

Without documentation, your spouse has to trust your word simply. This is never a position either of you should be in during divorce negotiations. Ensure you have evidence to back up any claims you make as you navigate your way through the process.

Some essential financial documents you’ll need to disclose include W-2s, 1099 Tax Forms, pay stubs, stock options, compensation packages, and bank statements.

Destroying Property

Some spouses intentionally destroy marital property before or during divorce proceedings out of anger or vengeance. They may ruin a house they no longer want their spouse to have or wreck a car their ex will need.

Obliterating communal assets lowers their overall value when split during a settlement. Every situation is unique, but if someone is caught destroying marital assets and property, the courts could order the wronged spouse to receive the fairest share of the property regardless of its condition. A monetary judgment can also be placed on the offending party.

Manipulating Emotions

Hurtful spouses may try to exploit the other’s emotions to gain a better settlement or improve their odds of child custody. One may make unreasonable demands then accuse their ex of being unfair when they don’t get their way.

It’s normal for divorce talks to get emotional. But beware if your spouse tries obvious manipulation tactics based on guilt, anger, or pity.

Feigning Agreement

A dishonest strategy is acting like you agree to settlement terms when you actually plan to contest them later. Once the divorce is finalized, the scheming party flips the table and files an appeal to try to overturn the agreement.

This underhanded tactic drags out the process and racks up legal fees for everyone involved. No matter how painful the end result may be, only agree to terms you intend to uphold.

Coercion and Threats

Finally, some spouses try to force or threaten their former partner into accepting a lower settlement. They may use intimidation, refuse to negotiate at all, or leverage something like child custody.

Any form of coercion during divorce talks is unethical and usually backfires. Negotiate assertively but civilly without threats or bullying. If you don’t have the emotional capacity to negotiate one-on-one at any point, reach out to your divorce lawyer for legal counsel and negotiation assistance.

Focus on Fairness with Nilsson Legal Group

Divorce settlements require good faith bargaining on both sides. By staying honest about your finances, offering reasonable demands, and remaining authentic throughout your divorce, you can ensure a fair settlement in the end.

However, divorce is difficult, and you shouldn’t have to do this alone. Let the professionals of Nilsson Legal Group help you navigate the ins and outs of your divorce in Tarrant County. We will prevent you from stumbling over obstacles that could lead to poor negotiation tactics.

We’re here to help. Schedule your free consultation today!