Think You Might Want a Divorce? Here's How to Prepare

There are lots of reasons why you might consider a divorce. According to data from a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the most common reasons for divorce are incompatibility (43%), infidelity (28%), and financial issues (22%). If you are dealing with any of these three and you think divorce is the solution, you mustn't just jump into it. You should take some time to prepare. Here are some things you can do to prepare for divorce.

Find a Divorce Attorney

This is the first thing you must do to prepare for divorce. While it may be easier for you and your partner to deal with your divorce without litigation, that's not always possible. Hiring divorce attorneys doesn't mean your case will end up in court. Sometimes lawyers can advise you and make you see why going to court may not be a good idea. For instance, you may end up paying $10,000 in attorneys' fees just so you can win assets worth $5000. In that case, losing that asset would be cheaper than fighting for it. You can even negotiate for something else.

Pay Closer Attention to Your Money

One of the first things that divorce attorneys will tell you to do is to mind your finances if you are preparing for divorce. Most women tend to leave financial stuff to their husbands. As such, they generally keep themselves in the financial dark. If this is how your marriage was, it would be a good idea to start paying more attention to account numbers, tax returns, and bank statements. Very soon after filing for divorce, you will need to fill in a statement of your net worth. Therefore, you should ensure that every asset is accounted for, and that starts with knowing what your assets are.

Prepare a Post-Divorce Budget

It's very important to determine how you will survive financially once you are on your own. In some instances, incomes drop drastically after divorce. For instance, a spouse can leverage existing credit to buy out the interest in an asset. Revising your expenses will also influence how you negotiate the divorce settlement. Whatever the case, a budget is very important. If your spouse was paying all the bills, you definitely don't want to be left homeless. Therefore, you should know where you are going and how you will pay for your upkeep ahead of time.

Divorce can be quite stressful. This is why you need to ensure that you prepare ahead of time. Once the proceedings start, there will be so much to deal with that you may forget some important things. Get in touch with our divorce attorneys if you need help preparing for a divorce. We can also help with the divorce process. We would love to make things easier for you.