It’s normal to make mistakes when you do something for the first time, and even more normal to make mistakes when doing something complicated for the first time. That’s a part of why divorce can cause so much distress for many people: they’ve never done this complicated thing before and yet the stakes are immediately so high. That said, there are common sense tips you can keep in mind to make the divorce process less stressful. First, you should read on to learn about three important considerations during divorce. Then, after you’ve finished, be sure to call a Sussex County divorce attorney. The best advice you can get is tailored to your specific situation, and an experienced divorce attorney is best positioned to help you understand your circumstances.
Use These Three Tips to Make Your Divorce Go Smoothly
1. Consider Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods
As you plan your divorce, your mind might first jump to discussions in a courtroom between yourself, a judge, and your former spouse. Litigation shouldn’t be your first step, however. Alternative dispute resolution methods offer a lot of benefits in a divorce, if nothing else, for facilitating negotiations in a somewhat less adversarial space. Arbitration, collaboration, and mediation are key tactics to achieve the same or similar goals, at less expense.
2. Stay Positive
It’s easy to slip into only thinking of potential problems and negatives when going through a divorce. Often a divorce itself can be perceived as a catastrophe you never anticipated. Seen through that lens, you could easily fall into a depressive spiral. And as understandable as that would be, we can see why perseverating in a state of emotional turmoil won’t be particularly helpful in your negotiations with your ex. Accept your fear and beat yourself down, but try to move forward in your decisions as calmly as you can. Not only will it be helpful to you, but seeing you handle things in a collected manner may be a big comfort to your children.
3. Don’t Be Dishonest
Dishonesty can hurt your case in many different ways. Here, we’ll examine two situations where being dishonest can really cut into your chances of success: hiding marital assets and hiding the truth from your lawyer.
A large number of people every year try to hide marital assets, thinking to protect these assets from being divided up in a divorce. The risk you take in so doing is great. Sure, discovering this kind of fraud may incline the court to favor your ex, but that won’t be the end of it. You may even face criminal charges.
Divorce may involve a lot of hurt, vulnerable feelings. It makes sense that you may feel uneasy sharing personal information about the difficulties in your marriage with an outside party like a lawyer. Don’t forget that you are protected by attorney-client privilege and your lawyer is not allowed to disclose what you tell them about your marriage unless in specific and dangerous circumstances. Be honest and upfront with your lawyer, and you’ll be more likely to be successful in the long term.
