I hope she doesn't have anything. I asked for a total of 8 items from marriage. and she has done everything i asked for. then she sends me this. in her papers she wants a total of 9000.00 plus the 2008 stimulus check(the whole thing) and for me to pay all court cost and fees. We have been split 6 or 8 weeks. since then she has moved someone in with her( a boyfriend i guess) . She has been seeing this guy for 3 weeks now. I want to get this over with so i can move on. But she wants all this money. I make 13.00 an hour. she makes 26.00 an hour. Who can afford it more. not me. I am currently living on couches where ever i can find a place because when handed her the papers she emptied all the bank accounts. and let me with several thousand in bad checks i been having to pay off. but looks like i am getting the shaft on this one. Learned something though: Poor fellers shouldn't marry rich girl.oh got married in 2001. lived in her parents apartment they owned.
You should really see an attorney. Many attorneys will give you one consultation for free. Beyond that, they can petition the court to have their fees taken from marital assets.
That said, people can ask for all sorts of things - that doesn't mean they're going to get it. My ex makes $75 K but she still asked the court for spousal support greater than my entire take home pay for 10 years (we were married for 14) and about 90% of our marital assets. Obviously, some people think it's a reasonable negotiating tactic to make absurdly huge claims at first and then be 'reasonable' by backing down somewhat from the initial claim. Maybe it even works. In any event, don't let her claims bother you. What matters is what you can negotiate as a final settlement, or if that fails, what the court orders.
Basically, you would be entitled to half of marital assets and she would get half of marital debts (including bad checks). From what you're saying, the value of what you're giving up might easily be higher than the attorney's fees, even if you have to pay them.
Court costs and fees CAN be assigned to one person or the other, but typically when one makes a very high income ($26 per hour probably doesn't cut it). Most commonly, the fees will be split or taken from marital assets before they're split.
In principle, if you've been married for 10 years or more, you could ask for spousal support, as well. With a 2:1 income difference, it wouldn't be out of the question, so it's at least worth asking (if for no other reason than as a negotiating position to make her be more reasonable on the property split--basically giving her back some of what she's giving you).
You didn't mention kids. If there are kids, it gets more complicated.