Will I Lose All My Money In A Divorce?

Probably not, but it depends.

1. Did you have a prenup?
2. How amicable will the divorce be? The more angry and bitter one gets, the more it will cost you — in legal fees. Anger and resentment feeds on itself. If you fight dirty, your spouse will do the same. Then you are both feeding your lawyers all your cash. Keep emotion out of the deal as much as you can.
3. You don’t have to split everything down the middle. Anything can be negotiated. Figure out your spouses ‘must-have’ items and use it as leverage to get what you want. For example, if cash is more important to you than furniture and a car, you could negotiate that. If keeping your 401k intact is more important than cash, negotiate that.
4. How organized are you? By this I mean you will have to fill out a statement of net worth for your lawyer when you retain him. This is a financial snap shot of what you have and what you owe. This means you have to have your tax returns, bank statements, social security numbers, online account passwords, credit card statements, car loan statements, etc, etc. If you don’t have this or know how to get it, then your lawyer might have to step in to help. This will cost you a lot of billable hours. Know your finances!
5. Do you have a realistic expectation of what you want from your divorce? Many people feel like they ‘just want out’. Then they get a lawyer. This is unwise. It will cost you a lot of money to figure out exactly what you can and cannot live without because it’s all a fluid process unless you have a solid realistic goal. All the while, your lawyer will gladly help you figure it out — at a high cost to you. No, you are not getting everything and you will not be divorced in a week. See point #6
6. Will you do your homework? To have realistic expectations and to help you figure out the realities you will face during your divorce, talk to as many divorced people as you can. Ask them what mistakes they made during their divorces? Ask them what they did right? Ask them how you can save money during your divorce? Ask them if they had to pay alimony and how much? How much was the child support they pay or receive? Just get them talking and steer the conversation to the topics of how did you mess up and what would you have done to save money?
7. Do you need a hug? That’s right, a lot of people use their lawyers as therapists. Big mistake! Yes, your lawyer needs to know what’s going on to help you, but write it down in a concise email to save on billable hours. Your lawyer is not your therapist or your friend. Don’t chat about a ball game or a flower show. Don’t use your time to bitch about the latest thing your soon to be ex has done. Your lawyer will gladly fill the role of friend or therapist because you are racking up more billable hours.
8. For more, see my BLOG

As you can see, how much you keep or lose depends on how well you play the game. Know the rules. You can lose a lot more than the cash you have by not being prepared.

Good Luck