Are you getting ready for a divorce? Preparing for the divorce process can feel overwhelming, confusing, and extremely emotional, especially if you don’t know where to start. Most of us know very little about divorce except what we hear from friends or family members who have gone through it, or what we see in the movies. However, these sources can be misguided and one-sided, plus, they rarely offer practical, applicable advice. If you are about to go through a divorce, it’s important for you to know the facts so you can be better prepared to face the future.
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to prepare. Whether you and your spouse are at each other’s throats or are working together towards a comparable dissolution, there are several things you should do independently to get ready for the upcoming divorce process.
Before your divorce, make sure you do the following:
1. Protect Your Finances
In a divorce, your finances van be extremely vulnerable. If you are seriously considering a divorce, the first thing you should do is set up your own personal finances to protect yourself. Most spouses share bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial investments, and any of these can be subject to division in a divorce. While you certainly don’t want to rob your spouse of their share of your money, you have every right to separate and protect what’s yours.
For example, you should create your own bank account and open separate credit cards that your spouse will be unable to access. This way, you are protected from any vengeful tactics meant to drain your share of your finances.
2. Discuss Your Options with an Attorney
Before you take that big step and file for divorce, you should discuss your options with a divorce attorney. An experienced divorce attorney will be able to tell you what your best options are for your particular situation. If you are in an abusive relationship, an attorney can help you secure a protective order. Or, if you are dealing with a vengeful spouse, an attorney can advise you as to how best to protect your assets. Whatever the case, a divorce lawyer will be able to give you pointed advice specific to your circumstances.
3. Make a Plan
Once you’ve met with an attorney, you’ve likely set up a plan for the immediate future. After you have this advice to apply to your situation, you can get started by thinking about how you can bring the issue up to your spouse, or, if the two of you have already spoken, consider how you will tell your children or family members the news. Also, you need to consider more practical issues, like your expenses, your living situation, your vehicles, and other details. For example, who will stay in your shared home and who will move out? Or, who will take which vehicle, and who will the children live with? Consider these big issues and make a plan for how and when to execute each.
You should also begin gathering important documents. Your attorney should have told you which documents are essential, so go through your files and make copies of every document that could come in handy. This should include tax documents, property deeds, vehicle information, loan information, credit card statements, bank account information, the marriage certificate, as well as other important documents.
Are you ready to begin your divorce? Our divorce attorneys in St. Charles understand how stressful and difficult this time can be, which is why we want to make getting ready for your divorce as simple and pain free as possible. Instead of wondering what to do, call our firm at (636) 400-1177 to discuss your options and begin planning your divorce.
Contact Smith Law Offices, LLC to discuss your case with our skilled divorce attorneys.