5 things to do before filing for divorce

Generally I answer questions that come into me from different clients or prospective clients. But today I thought, let me give you five pointers of what you can do before you file for divorce, as I think this is helpful for you if you are contemplating divorce.

  1. Make Sure You’re 100% Ready
    The very first thing I want to tell you that you should do is be sure that you really are ready and want to divorce. This sounds crazy, if you are contemplating divorce, you’re thinking, “Well of course, I want a divorce.” But I have experience with clients who come into my office who are ready for divorce, who have been contemplating divorce for years; they’re finally fed up and say, “Okay you know what, I’m ready. I can’t take this anymore, I want to get this going.” My first question when I sit down with people like this is: Are you certain that you are prepared? Are you certain that you really want to do this? I understand that divorce is emotional. I understand that it changes your entire life. So I want to make sure that you are ready to file for divorce and get a divorce.I have had situations where people have stated that they were ready and I have begun the paperwork and charged them a fee just to later hear, “I made a mistake, I really don’t want this.” At that point two things that could happen. 1.) Your spouse can say fine, let’s cancel everything. Or, 2) that your spouse may say, “You know what, I think I wanna go forward with this divorce. Now that you’ve started it, even though you changed your mind, I wanna continue it, and I wanna get divorced.” So, number one, be sure that you are ready and prepared for divorce.

 

  1. Choose The Right Attorney
    The second thing to do is to choose the attorney that is right for you. There are many different attorneys out there. You need to make sure that the attorney that you choose is someone that you feel totally comfortable with, that you feel that you can trust, that you can speak to, that understands your situation and is able to relate to you. To do this you should go ahead and call different attorney’s offices and have free consultations with the ones that do it, or pay for a consultations if that’s what it takes, until you find the attorney that you feel comfortable with.

 

  1. Prepare Financial Records
    The third thing you should do is gather all sorts of financial information. Take pictures of the note of the house, the note in the car, bank accounts, credit card accounts — everything that you can to get a good understanding of your financial situation. It is better to have that information before you file for divorce. I’ve dealt with issues where people come to me for divorces and all of the sudden, bank accounts are missing. They can’t prove that there was a bank account because they don’t have paperwork for it. They can’t prove that there were stocks because they can’t find the paperwork. So it is best for you to gather all your financial information before you file for the divorce.

 

  1. Make Any Necessary Purchases or Sales
    Another thing you’ll want to do is make any purchases or any sales that you are thinking about doing before you file for divorce. Generally when you file for divorce, the judges have an order put in place that prohibits either one of the spouses from either selling or purchasing any items while the divorce is pending. So, if you are planning on doing something like that, do it before you file for the divorce to avoid being stopped by the judge.

 

  1. Be Conscious Of Your Social Media
    The fifth thing you should consider, and consider seriously, is your social media posts. Posts from social media have come into court too many times to mention. And they have negative consequences based on what is posted out there. So be very careful to look what is out there posted on social media. You might even want to consider stopping or taking a break from social media while you’re going through the divorce, or until the divorce is final. This may stop anything from coming into court that could negatively affect your chances at your divorce.

When considering divorce, couples usual have a million questions float through their head before actually filing. While I hope these five tips have helped you in realizing what you should prepare for before filing for divorce, please don’t hesitate to contact our office if you have additional questions. Our office can be reached at (702) 998-1188, info@ljlawlv.com, or by scheduling a phone or in-person meeting via our online consultation scheduler.

For more information and other frequently asked questions regarding Divorce and Family Law, check out or Family Law blog, podcast, or Family Law TV playlist on Youtube.

 

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