Divorce is a financial, legal, and emotional process, but there are shades of gray in between the big-ticket items that can impact your finances and well-being. Knowing what’s ahead for your changing family by preparing for all possibilities will help you make sense of the early days of divorce and weather challenges as they appear.
Make Lists and Gather Documentation
If you’re not a list-maker, now is the time to start. Organizing all the must-dos and to-dos will save you time, expense, and stress through the early days of divorce. Now is the time to gather essential documents such as:
- Marriage certificate
- Tax returns
- Property deeds
- Wills and trusts
- Assets and debts
Establish Financial Goals
You are no longer operating as a couple but as a single entity, and your financial goals will be different. Itemize what matters most and streamline your focus so you aren’t blindsided by financial changes throughout your divorce:
- Itemize short-term financial goals. You will now be responsible for mortgage or rent and bills. How will expenses be covered? What are the immediate financial needs of your household? Budgeting has never been more critical.
- Identify long-term financial objectives. Do you want to stay in the house you’re in? Are you ready to move to a new town or state? How will receiving or paying child or spousal support impact your bottom line every month?
- Work with a financial planner. Finances will ebb and flow as your early days of divorce commence and having a financial expert on your side makes this process affordable and manageable among all your other expenses.
Prioritize the Kids
Things can get sticky quickly in a divorce when you have children. Determining child custody and the amount of child support and who is responsible for minor children must be determined as soon as possible, with the anticipation that the divorce settlement will finalize these matters. Interim orders may be necessary to ensure that the kids’ needs are covered throughout the divorce process and one parent is not financially obliged to manage all matters related to their children. Other helpful choices for the kids in the early days of divorce:
- Hire a therapist for your kids to talk to about the changes in their lives.
- Keep the divorce talk and any negativity to a minimum.
- Maintain age-appropriate conversations when your kids pose questions about divorce.
Early Days of Divorce: Hire a Michigan Divorce Lawyer
Michigan divorce laws are unique to the state and legalities often differ depending on jurisdiction. Familiarize yourself with the particulars of child custody, child support, property division, and other divorce laws. You don’t have to do any of this alone though. The most critical step in the early days of divorce is to hire a Michigan divorce lawyer who can educate you about your rights and responsibilities so you can make informed decisions through the divorce process.
Your divorce attorney is always in your corner, and they are the resource who enables you to move forward with confidence and knowledge. Contact Michigan Divorce Help in Mt. Clemens to schedule a consultation.
This blog post is not a substitute for legal advice.