Once you have made the final decision to get a divorce, attached are some tips you can do to prepare for a divorce.
1) Take Note
You will need to use your own money for divorce, not your spouses. You will have to maintain yourself and your children for a while if you are dependent on your spouse and your spouse makes the decision to cut you off support.
You will also probably need funds to hire a lawyer. If there is anyway to begin a separate account to guard against future financial possibilities, now is the time to do it. If you need to borrow money from a relative or friend, be sure to sign a promissory note so the court will look at this as a loan that you have to repay and not as a gift.
2) Log a Divorce Calendar
If you are currently using a desk calendar or day planner, you will now need to include your divorce events. There will be meetings with your lawyer and court deadlines to keep track of. It may be helpful to keep track of discussions with your spouse.
A divorce Calendar may be used as evidence in your case when your spouse does not keep an appointment or violated an agreement or court order. Visitation dates with children need to be calendared. You will also want to keep track of appointments with your children’s teachers, doctors, coaches and tutors. This may become evidence of your participation in your children’s lives in your divorce.
3) Create a To Do List
Be sure to stay organized and set your priorities straight during the divorce. This is the easiest way to do it. List all the items you have to accomplish and mark them off as you go through them.
4) Prepare a Divorce Folder or Binder
A divorce produces a lot of paperwork and may become a storm. The simplest way to keep track of all these papers is with a three ring binder and a three-hole punch. Put papers in chronological order and be sure to make an index for your own benefit.
5) Set up a Divorce File
You may prefer to set up individual files for various categories of divorce papers. Some examples are correspondence with your attorney, drafts of agreements, financial information and pleadings. Files with brads and a two hole punch will help you keep papers neat and organized.
6) Cut Expenses
If you have debt in your name, like credit cards or student loans, you will want to pay those debts down as much as possible before a divorce. If your family is like most American families, you have been spending close to your entire income, if not more, and when one household becomes two, there will not be enough money to pay the expenses of both unless something changes.
You may have to cut your current expenses, sell the car and get a less expensive model, or maybe sell the house. If your spouse does not voluntarily support you and the children, your remedy is to ask the Court to order support. You will not have a good prediction of any of this and you will not know the answers for sure until the agreement is signed or the judge makes a ruling. But, the point is to think about it, and identify problems and possible solutions. Then take the actions that you can take and avoid missteps.
7) Stay with a Consistent Routine
It will help if you try to keep things as normal as possible in your life. Do not skip meals or change sleeping habits. Positive routines like using you’re to do list and calendar will help you keep focus. Exercise is always a great way to relieve stress. Try to maintain friendships and daily routines as normal.
8) Be Constructive
Try to maintain a positive outlook and do not let yourself get involved with unnecessary conflicts with your spouse. You will need his signature on a settlement agreement before your divorce is over. You will still be parents together for years after the divorce.
9) Make a Plan
Take it one day at a time. Focus on the present and not the past. Try to control only those things within your control. Many things in a divorce are outside of your control. Try not to blow those things out of proportion. Make a plan. Then keep working your plan. That is how you will take control of your divorce and not let it take control of you.
10) Gather Financial Information
The more you can organize your own financial documents, the more you will reduce your attorney fees and improve your chances of success. You are going to have to gather and organize a lot of information for your attorney or your case. A good way of organizing the information you find is a financial statement which can be used as a checklist.
Many courts have a form financial statement available at the court clerk’s office and sometimes online. If you can obtain this form and fill it out, it will help you gather and organize your financial information. Give it to your lawyer at the first meeting to save time and expense.
11) Do Your Research
It is valuable for you to learn everything you can about divorce early in the process. If you know little or nothing about the process, you may not make the best decisions or choices. Most people are uncomfortable with the unknown. You can raise your comfort level and your odds of success by finding out what is going to happen before it happens. The Internet is a convenient way to obtain summary and detailed information about divorce.
Of course there are other ways to research the subject. You can start your research at a library or bookstore. There are seminars and support groups. Talk to friends who have been through divorce. But, keep in mind that every divorce is different. It’s a good idea to learn about the basics of divorce law in your state early in the process.
With this is mind, if you and your spouse are able to come to an agreement without any hassle you are able to do an online divorce with a do it yourself specific state divorce process. You can begin this low cost process by simply going to www.mydivorcedocuments.com and begin your easy and quick divorce today.