Britney Spears has had perhaps the most public breakdown of a relationship, subsequent divorce and custody battle for her children of any celebrity. Her split with her ex-husband, former backing dancer Kevin Federline, has seen the American singer on the brink of self destruction; such was the anguish of her divorce and battle to see her children.

However it’s her lawyers, and indeed the lawyers of Federline, who are the real winners in the divorce. Because Britney and Kevin were unable to come to an agreement between them and their divorce became so acrimonious that they argued over everything, Britney looks to be paying out $700,000.

Her battle has meant she’s been billed by two separate law firms a total of $466,000 in legal fees. She’s also been ordered to pay Kevin’s legal costs, which come to a further $250,000.

One law firm, Stacy D. Phillips, has billed Britney a staggering $407,000 for just 4 months of legal services. They also claim they’ve written off $125,000 in legal fees already.

It’s only going to get worse for Britney however as she and her father Jamie claim they will contest the agreement when it goes to court for approval. This will end up costing Britney even more money.

When getting divorced it’s important whenever possible to remain civil with your ex-partner in order to keep costs down to a minimum and to keep your divorce as stress free as possible.

What happened to Britney Spears could happen to anybody.