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Divorce proceedings involve more than just filing a complaint to the court. No one enjoys going through a divorce and want to get through it as painlessly and quickly as possible. Here are nine tips about what you should do before filing a divorce.
Be Absolutely Sure That A Divorce Is What You Want
Deciding on getting a divorce is an emotional process and you shouldn’t make big decisions about your marriage and future when you’re feeling overly emotional. First ensure that there is no hope left for saving the marriage, despite couples counselling, before going through with it.
Start Thinking About Your Living Situation
Are you going to be living elsewhere during the divorce or will you be sharing a house with your spouse? Do you want your partner to move out? Think about your living situation during and after the divorce. Also think about how your decision is going to impact the divorce settlement. Speak to a great divorce lawyer in Knoxville Tennessee about what the best move on your side would be.
Start Interviewing Lawyers
You may want to interview more than one lawyer before deciding on filing the divorce. Its best to work alongside an attorney that understands your goals when it comes to litigation. Steer clear from those that offer solutions before they even heard your story. Also, ensure the lawyer is qualified to handle your individual case.
Think About Your Aims For Custody
Where children are involved, custody is usually on the forefront of your thoughts. The spouses usually end up sharing custody. It’s useful to consider your children’s schedule, your work schedule and other obligations and work on a custody schedule. If the arrangement suits both spouses, then the divorce process will already be a lot easier for everyone involved.
Assemble Financial Documents
Divorce cases are heavily contingent on documents. Records such as phone records, financial account records, car notes, mortgages and anything else that would be relevant to the divorce must be gathered before filing the divorce. It’s also smart to get records of any shared online accounts. Save yourself from potential issues in future by having everything ahead of time.
Speak To Your Lawyer About Credit Cards And Joint Bank Accounts
You may be advised to close these accounts or leave them as they are, depending on how well you and your spouse handled the joint financial accounts. You want to avoid any scenario where your spouse drains the bank accounts or has the potential of running up bills that are in your name.
Draw Up A Marital Balance Sheet
The document should contain all your assets and debts. An accountant may have to be hired to help you with this. This information can help with division of the marital estate. It can also help you with setting up a budget on how much to spend on your lawyer as well as the divorce litigation.
Avoid Living Like You’re Single
Despite you and your spouse being separated and living in separate places, it is still considered as adultery in most jurisdictions if you’ve started a new romantic relationship with someone before filing a divorce. Having another relationship before filing for divorce will not help your case.
