Divorce is often stressful, and the people going through it can make it even worse for themselves. On the other hand, you can take steps early in the process to make divorce less painful for you and less stressful for the rest of your family.
Trying to focus on long-term needs while following the four steps below will help you achieve a healthier dissolution of your marriage.
Establish clear goals
Your top priorities in your divorce will be a reflection of what matters most to you. Whether you have strong opinions about custody arrangements or you want to keep certain property, you need to set those goals early and then take proactive steps to achieve those goals.
Getting a clear understanding of your assets
People tend to accrue property and debt without reviewing their financial circumstances in detail. You need to understand what you own and what you owe so that you can ask for a fair outcome.
Especially in high asset or long-term marriages, you need to create a thorough inventory of your resources to ensure you don’t wind up paying for debts that you shouldn’t or missing out on your fair share of property because your ex has hidden money or resources.
Save your fight for the issues that matter
Emotions only serve to complicate a divorce. People spend hundreds of dollars and cause themselves unquantifiable levels of stress by fighting over issues that don’t really matter to them.
In the family courts, your feelings don’t matter as much as the law and your practical circumstances. Still, your feelings can make your divorce a lot messier. Choosing to focus on the battles that matter for your long-term happiness and stability will not only reduce personal stress levels but help you keep your costs lower.
Recruit an experienced attorney for your team
Although you can certainly look up the basics of divorce online and read the legal code yourself, you don’t have the understanding of how the family courts work, nor do you have practice following the protocol. More importantly, your emotions can certainly get the better of you, and you could easily misunderstand the circumstances.
Bringing in professional help makes it easier for you to achieve the three other steps on this list and to fight for the best possible outcome in your divorce. When you prepare and focus on your long-term happiness, divorce can be less stressful and frustrating.