Divorce Attorney in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
How often does a divorce proceeding end up in litigation?
How often does a divorce proceeding end up in litigation?
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00:04
well the term litigation
00:06
uh is a broad term and by virtue of
00:09
filing for divorce
00:10
uh you basically entered in litigation
00:13
however
00:14
how often does a case get fully
00:17
litigated
00:18
all the way to a trial it’s very rare
00:22
parties have limited resources the
00:25
issues
00:25
are generally not complicated for uh for
00:28
the professionals and so
00:30
many times the litigation
00:34
i like to analogize as a railroad
00:37
you start at the at the beginning and
00:39
you can take it all the way to the end
00:41
and i would say most divorces in
00:44
litigation are going to end up in the
00:46
in the middle where you do some
00:48
litigating you’re in court a little bit
00:50
you have miniature hearings on different
00:52
issues you can’t resolve
00:54
and those are normal they’re not very
00:56
stressful
00:57
and they’re handled primarily by the the
01:00
attorneys
01:01
the trials that people hear about where
01:03
it’s days and it’s expensive
01:05
and uh and everybody hates each other
01:08
and they’re
01:08
you know throwing up every bad deed that
01:11
is extremely rare and i would say
01:13
it’s in single digit percentage of cases
01:16
that end up
01:17
fully litigated
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Chicago, IL family law attorney Michael Lodermeier talks about how often divorce proceedings end up in litigation. He points out that the term “litigation” is broad, and by filing for divorce, a person essentially enters into litigation. However, cases that proceed all the way to a full trial are very rare. Most parties have limited resources, and the issues involved are generally straightforward for experienced professionals.
He often likens litigation to a railroad: you can travel all the way to the end, but most divorces stop somewhere in the middle. There is usually some court involvement, with small hearings to resolve specific disputes, but these are typically routine and handled primarily by the attorneys.
The trials people hear about—long, expensive, and combative proceedings where every past grievance is aired—are extremely uncommon. He estimates that only a single-digit percentage of cases end up fully litigated in this way.
