Divorce costs money; the amount of money may vary depending on different circumstances, but you won't have a free divorce. It gets even worse if your spouse has significantly more money than you since they can garner serious resources to oppose your demands. This means you are at a disadvantage already if you want to start the divorce process but don't have ready money. Fortunately, you don't have to despair if you can tap into the following sources of money to fund your divorce:

Take a Loan

Taking a loan to divorce is a good idea if you know you will have the funds to settle the debts and you won't be destitute after the divorce settlement. For example, if your spouse is hogging all your marital assets and has locked you out of the marital funds, you can take out a loan, fund your divorce, and use your divorce settlement to plug the debt. You can take a loan from family and friends or from a 401K account.

A word of caution here; some people take loans to "hurt" their partners because they know their partners will be responsible for part of the debts taken before their divorce is finalized. Your partner might get a court order barring you from certain lines of credit if they suspect you might go down that road. Therefore, if there is such an order in place, make sure you obey it.

Use Your Marital Assets

You may also be able to use marital assets to fund your divorce depending on your state alas. Some states, such as Illinois, don't allow spouses to use marital assets for divorce, and you may be accused of asset dissipation if you do such a thing. Other states, such as Virginia, have an opposing view and will allow you to use marital assets to pay your divorce fee. Therefore, check your state's laws and if it's legal, dip into your joint account or family savings to pay your divorce fees.

Get Your Spouse to Do It

Lastly, if circumstances allow, you may also get the court to order your spouse to pay your divorce fees. This applies in situations where the money is actually there, but your spouse is hogging it all. For example, it might be that your spouse is the primary breadwinner in the family, they also control all the family's purse strings, and they have locked you out of the marital funds. In such cases, some states will accept your petition to get your spouse to fund your divorce.

To learn more, contact a firm like Finocchio & English.