Considerations When Preparing For Divorce
Posted on: 27 January 2016
If you are thinking about divorce, then there are a number of questions that you will need to ask yourself. How will the money be divided up? What about the houses? Who will the children go with? However, there are a number of other questions that you might not have thought about, but are equally important, such as:
Do you want a mediated divorce?
First of all, you want to think about how you want the divorce to go. While the traditional process involves you and your spouse arguing through lawyers, there is a much more amicable method, which is to get a mediated divorce.
In a mediated divorce, you and your spouse will sit down with a mediator, who will help you divide up your assets and create terms of divorce that are agreeable to both of you. This can make the process much smoother by taking aggressive lawyers out of the equation. Without the constant badgering, you might be more willing to make concessions and make the entire process go smoother. As a result, this can mean lower legal costs overall.
The biggest drawback is that your rights and interests might not be as protected as you might like. Without a lawyer that is acting purely in your interests, you might not know which concessions you should make and which you should not. This can ultimately result in you losing a lot of assets and property that you otherwise could have kept.
Do you have all the documents that you need?
When it comes to divorce, there are a huge number of documents that can help you out. You'll want to make sure that you have proof of all loans taken out by you and your spouse, along with lines of credit that you are both associated with. Before coming to the divorce table, it's a good idea to separate your financials as much as possible, to increase the amount that you will walk away with. If you can clearly define what is yours and what is hers/his, then you will find it easier to prove your case in court.
Have you modified your will?
You want to make sure that you change your will to reflect your divorce. You might only need to make a few changes or you might need to rewrite the whole thing, but you definitely don't want to forget about it. You probably don't want to leave everything to your ex-spouse, so you might want to change your will to leave your children and possibly charities as your sole beneficiaries. Contact a lawyer, such as Thomas & Associates, PC, for more information.
Share