Things to do when preparing for a divorce
Contact an Attorney
An attorney can be an extremely beneficial first step in planning for a divorce. An attorney will guide your decisions and make sure your divorce is as easy as possible. An easy way that you can help your attorney is have your general information ready for the attorney to assess and plan a personal strategy for you. The general information should include names, jobs, date of marriage, separation date, any children that belong to this marriage or past marriages, past jobs, incomes, and potentially social security numbers. The rule that you should follow with your attorney, is the more information the better. This allows the attorney to know what to expect in this divorce.
To Do List
A few things that should be high on your to do list is calculate daily living expenses for you and your spouse, change passwords on your personal accounts, and start collecting all documents that an attorney or judge might need. It is smart to put these documents on a flash drive and to make copies as backups.
These documents can include:
– Tax Filings
– Bank Statements
– Retirement Account statements
– Mortgage Documents
– Deeds
– Titles (Car, Motorcycles, Boats, Etc.)
– Prenuptial or Postnuptial Agreements
– Any medical or dental benefit plans
– Any records or statements that pertains to debt
– All insurance plans (life insurance, health savings, etc.)
– Business Records or Pay Stubs
– A list/inventory of assets (real property or stock options)
Not To Do
– Don’t clean out your bank accounts
– Don’t take your kids any place without talking to your spouse
– Be discreet in your text messages and emails
– Don’t bring any new adults around your children before you are separated
– Don’t assume it will all handle itself
If you have more questions about what you should do when preparing for your divorce, contact The Cox Law Firm. The attorneys will answer your questions and help prepare you so you are well-equipped for your divorce.
