While the start of a marriage is about love, the end of it is about money. Take actress Kate Walsh.  Married for only 14 months, her ex gets a payment of $627,000, plus half of the actress' earnings from shows she filmed during their marriage.

While things may be a little different for Hollywood couples, it still costs a lot for anyone.n “Even if you have a young couple who were maybe only married a few months and realize they can't live together as husband and wife, there's still issues about dividing up things as small as wedding gifts," says William McGuire, a family law attorney for Tanner and Guin in Tuscaloosa.  He says splitting marital assets can be complex.

Assets include any property, vehicles, money, and valuables such as jewelry, artwork and antiques.  Even small businesses can be considered a marital asset.Plus here in Alabama, if you've been married for 10 years, your retirement plan can potentially be divided.

When it comes to valuing assets and figuring out who should get what, a financial advisor can be a big help in keeping you from making big financial mistakes...

"It’s really difficult to agree on all the numbers together and that's where you really need somebody else that's an independent and maybe the other spouse has a financial advisor too and they can get together to help them figure out where that dollar amount it," explains Bob Straka, a certified financial planner and president of GrandView Financial Group in Birmingham.  He says an advisor can help you make smarter decisions when it comes to things like who should take on the mortgage.

"If you are the one left with the house can you afford those payments or will they pay off the house and the other spouse how do you get the house, there's a lot of things involved," adds Straka.

Beyond the assets, you're also going to pay for attorney fees and court costs.

"Depending on the complexities of the case and the issues of the case, would determine the cost of litigation if it got to that point," says McGuire.

In Alabama, mediation is also an option for getting a cheaper divorce.

"It’s a means to limit lawyers’ fees, it gets the process over quicker," McGuire explains.

Money wise, there's also going to be the setting of alimony and if there's kids involved, child support payments.

So while divorce may be tough emotionally, it can also be devastating financially.