Divorce is an emotionally charged proceeding that can affect multiple areas of your life. Going through a long process while dealing with complex emotions can cause you to make mistakes. Divorce involves a lot of financial strain, changes to your family dynamic, long meetings, and much more. Below are some of the most common divorce mistakes and how you can avoid them.
1- Failing To Understand Your Finances
One of the most common divorce mistakes is not having a clear understanding of your finances. Dividing assets and income can get complicated when you don’t understand how your finances will change after the divorce. The lack of knowledge could lead to you settling for an unfair amount and having financial struggles after the divorce is final.
Before meeting with your lawyer, gather all financial documents including tax documents, bank statements, and mortgage information. You can also consult with a financial advisor to help you better understand your current financial liability. Financial literacy will help you make informed decisions during the settlement process.
2- Letting Your Emotions Drive
Divorce is an emotionally charged situation for all parties, but letting anger, resentment, or pride guide your choices is a common mistake. When emotions are running high, it can be hard to negotiate with your estranged spouse, even with a lawyer.
Consider working with a therapist or counselor while your divorce is ongoing. This will help you let out your feelings in a safe space while gaining a better perspective on your current situation. Therapy is a great place to talk about a situation and work through scenarios before you navigate them in real life.
3- Not Obtaining Legal Advice
Common divorce mistakes often involve not utilizing the expertise of a lawyer. Even if you have family or friends who have gone through a divorce, they can not provide you with comprehensive advice. Attorneys are able to help with paperwork, complicated matters like spousal support and child custody, as well as scheduling mediation and court proceedings. Find a qualified divorce lawyer who knows the divorce process in your state.
4- Neglecting Taxes When Creating A Settlement
Tax implications are often overlooked when it comes to a divorce. Different assets have different tax treatments that could result in financial strain later on. Consult your financial advisor or tax specialist to help ensure that the division of assets and alimony agreements are fair for both parties.
5- Dating Before Your Divorce Is Final
Common divorce mistakes often involve parties moving on too fast or doing something neglectful that impacts your divorce. Getting into another serious relationship, spreading information about the divorce on social media, or rubbing a new relationship in your partner’s face will have a negative impact on your proceedings.
A new relationship can also impact your children during this traumatic period. The presence of a new person who can conflict with you and your spouse’s parenting can be even more detrimental than the divorce. Use extreme caution when going on dates or forming relationships with a new partner.
6- Making Side Agreements Without Your Lawer
Negotiating agreements without your lawyer is another common divorce mistake that parties make. Talking with your ex-spouse about finances, child custody, and splitting assets without a written agreement may be hard to prove in court. Even in the heat of the moment or if an ex-spouse is putting pressure on you, agreeing to something outside of your lawyer’s office is a common mistake that could cost you in the long run.
7- Overlooking The Impact On Children
One of the biggest divorce mistakes is neglecting to understand the effect on your children. With all of the small components that take up your focus during a divorce, you may neglect your children’s needs during the process. The divorce will impact children just as much as if affects adults, so listening to their feelings and working to not burden them with your worries is important.
Another aspect to remember is to keep your children out of arguments or negotiations with your spouse. Using children as pawns during your divorce can cause trauma for them and weaken their relationship with either parent.
Some parents use children to fill the gap left in their lives by treating them like adults or partners. This affects children by making them feel responsible for their parent’s happiness. These parents can also develop an unhealthy relationship with their children, where they depend on them, and may feel abandoned when the child moves on to new relationships.
8- Failing To Update Wills, Trusts, and Estate Plans
Significant live events often will affect your will and trust. Divorcing your spouse could invalidate previously executed wills and can change your estate plans or division of assets once you die. During a divorce, make sure to work with your lawyer to update your trust and change your wishes to reflect your life change.
Divorce Help From Kaufman Nichols & Kaufman
Our lawyers are the experts in divorce proceedings in Utah. KNK can help you with multiple components of a divorce including wills and trusts, child custody, negotiation, and court proceedings for complicated divorce. With over 100 years of collective experience, Kaufman, Nichols & Kaufman help you by providing tactful and vigorous representation. Reach out to us to learn more about our office today!