Divorce is never easy. It is less financially painful when spouses put aside their anger at the situations that led them to this point, act as rationally as possible, and resolve issues quickly. If you’ve decided that it’s best to start a new life, spending time fighting about every specific wrong will prolong your pain (and that of any children) and put further strain on your wallet. Even if one spouse is wealthy, spending more money than necessary on legal fees only reduces the pool of money leftover to establish two separate households. In most instances, no matter how cost-efficient the divorce, the standard of living for the respective households, from an economic standpoint, will go down. As you proceed, try to make wise financial decisions for the benefit of all by coming to an agreement and having the most money left in the end as possible. Most divorce cases don’t actually go to trial and the judges’ preferred way of resolving a case is the proposal of a fair and equitable plan to which both parties can agree. The more quickly and efficiently you can get to that agreed plan, the better for all.
Materials to Assist Your Attorney in Preparing and Understanding Your Family and Divorce Matter.
In order to assist your attorney, you should make copies of all relevant documents and statements as well as copies of any other documents that you feel would be useful and relevant to your case. Relevant documents include but are not limited to, the following: Tax Returns, W-2 forms, 1099 forms, bank statements, retirement account statements, investment statements, list of monthly expenses and supporting documentation, list of assets and liabilities, credit card statements, mortgage statements, tax statements, insurance policies, proof of income for both parties, pictures, emails, letters, etc.
Prenuptial agreements (also know as ante-nuptial agreements) are becoming more common, especially as couples are marrying later in life or as second, third and fourth marriages become more common. Even with young, never before married couples, one or both of the parties may have accumulated significant assets prior to the intended marriage that they want to protect for themselves in the event of divorce. Both parties should consult their own legal representatives prior to negotiating and signing a prenuptial agreement.