Retirement Tied Up In Divorce Settlement Maryland

Maryland. I'm fully eligible to retire from the Federal Government and am considering taking the buyout deal. My only reservation in doing so is the fact that when I do, I am obligated as per my divorce settlement to give my ex-spouse a portion of my retirement annuity. We had made this agreement back in 2011 when my financial status was very different than today. had been a dedicated federal employee for fifteen plus years before they suddenly and unfairly cut me loose nine years ago. I was able to get back into the government with an entry level job but am making a small fraction of what I had been at the time of the divorce. I would like to negotiate the terms of the settlement and to reach an agreement to not have to go through with the annuity at all because his financial situation is much much more secure than mine. I would consider a buyout where I pay him something like 10k flat out instead of $400 from my monthly ~$1700 retirement for life. I’m wondering if I should talk to him directly first to see if we can settle this without lawyers or just go straight to lawyers. I fear that if go straight to him, and he flat out says no, that by the time we get to the lawyers he will have finessed his way into hiding many of his assets to make himself look less financially secure than he currently is. He is living very comfortably on retirement whereas I am working two jobs and have a renter in my home in order to live a relatively decent lifestyle.