I’m in an abusive marriage and must get out. He’s volatile and verbally explosive. When upset, he becomes vindictive, unreasonable, irrational and very difficult.

I spoke with a divorce lawyer who said it could cost less to hire a lawyer to divorce us vs mediation because our case is pretty simple. No kids, no real shared assets (no home or mortgage), totally separate finances except a couple items, and we’ve only been married a year. Lawyer said the divorce paperwork will cost me $1500-2000. Mediation can cost $3500-4000. Plus with mediation, you want to probably also hire your own lawyer to check the paperwork (So I’ve read).

If my husband becomes difficult when I face him with a divorce, he could wrack up the legal fees making it Much more costly for me. He also can hardly afford his own lawyer.

So do I hire a lawyer or try to mediate? I think mediation assumes my husband will cooperate.

I just don’t know? Anyone have experience with this kind of decision??