If your divorce is uncontested, billable hours are going to be greatly reduced, saving you substantial money on attorney's fees. Schedule some sit-down time with your spouse when the two of you can knock out the nuts and bolts of an agreement without the need for lawyers.

At some point, there must be a discussion in the relationship: Are we having children and who will care for them? And if the answer is that the wife will stay home, then how long, and does she have a plan to work as the child moves from tender years to tween?

Deciding who should get what can be quite a challenge, even under the most amenable of situations. But, if your divorce is contentious, then this can be especially complicated.

Even when both parties enter into a separation with the best intentions of reasonableness, it's difficult to keep a grip on decency amidst a maelstrom of emotional and financial insecurity.