Dave Portnoy confirms ex-wife still has ‘full access’ to his bank account — says if she wanted to take it, she could. Here’s the reason behind the unusual setup

Though the couple has been separated for years, Portnoy said in a previous interview with ESPN’s Sage Steele that their divorce proceedings stalled when a judge insisted their financial agreement was unfair to Renee. But she didn’t want half, he explained, so they agreed to a private arrangement outside of court.

While Portnoy’s story may sound unconventional, it highlights just how messy and expensive divorce can be.

Divorce can be a costly and drawn-out process

Unless your breakup is as amicable as the Portnoys’, divorce is likely to be both time-consuming and expensive.

A typical case can take anywhere from a few months to a few years, depending on where the couple lives and how intense the conflict is, according to FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters company. The average divorce involves $11,300 in attorney’s fees alone and the total costs can exceed $20,000 if it goes to trial, according to Martindale-Nolo Research.

And those figures only reflect the legal process — not the long-term financial aftermath.

Splitting assets can disrupt your finances

Couples who go through a divorce often underestimate the impact on their finances and post-divorce lives, according experts interviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Dividing up shared assets is typically the most contentious and complicated part of any divorce. Disagreements over real estate, retirement accounts, or illiquid investments can delay proceedings and cause lasting damage to both parties’ financial health.