3 Key Steps To Follow When Beginning The Divorce Process

Going through a divorce can be a traumatic experience no matter who you are. Whether you are a man or a woman, you are likely concerned about maintaining your current financial situation as much as possible as well as worrying about what will happen with any children you may have from the marriage. If you want to have a fighting chance in court, here are three things every one should do upon getting served with divorce papers.

Don't Try and Talk It Out—Hire a Divorce Attorney

A mistake many sometimes make upon getting informed that their spouse wants a divorce is to try and talk their way out of it. But by then, it's likely already too late. Anything you say to your spouse, such as apologizing for your faults, could end up being used against you in court. Apologizing for doing something wrong can be seen as an admission of guilt, and if your spouse is secretly recording the conversation, it could hurt you in the long run. The first thing you should do upon getting served with your walking papers is to contact a divorce attorney who will go to bat for you. He or she can help you avoid doing or saying anything that could come back to haunt you later.

Separate Joint Accounts

If you share a bank account or other finances with your spouse, it's important to get your share of the money into a personal, individual account immediately. You don't want your spouse to have the opportunity to completely drain the account or risk having the court put a freeze on the account until the conclusion of the proceedings. At the same time, it's important to be reasonable yourself when transferring money out of the account. If it looks like you are taking more than your share, a judge can easily punish you for your mistake. 

Don't Use Your Kids as a Weapon, But Do Document Your Time With Them

If there are kids involved in this situation, it's important not to try and turn them against the other parent, primarily for the child's well-being, but also because it will look bad in court. That said, you should still document your time with them leading up to the first court appearance. You want to be able to demonstrate to the judge that you regularly spend a lot of time with your kids and are capable of taking care of them.

If you are about to go through a divorce, the very first thing you should do is hire a divorce attorney. After that, take care to properly document your finances and move any of your money that you have in a joint account into a more secure one. If there are kids involved, document your time and daily activities with them. For more information, reach out to a divorce attorney today or check out websites like http://www.chesapeakevalawyer.com.

Share