How to Start Preparing for a Divorce

Filing for divorce is no small feat. As well as the emotional strain of your relationship coming to an end and having to tell your children, legally ending a marriage comes with copious amounts of paperwork, division of assets, settling of debts, and navigating a new future by yourself.

It’s fair to say the divorce process can be overwhelming and stressful. However, knowing how to prepare for a divorce can help ease these negative feelings. 

In this blog, we have rounded up 6 essential steps to take to help you start preparing for a divorce.

Here are 6 crucial steps to help you start preparing for a divorce: 

1. Ensure you are absolutely certain you want a divorce
2. Find a divorce lawyer
3. Decide how you’ll tell your children
4. Organise your finances 
5. Update beneficiary information
6. Seek emotional support

1. Ensure You Are Absolutely Certain You Want a Divorce

Every marital relationship faces its own issues and challenges along the way. And while divorce might seem like the only option available during those turbulent times, you must be absolutely certain that this is the best decision.

Granted every marriage is unique, for some couples, it can be highly beneficial to try alternative dispute resolution options like marriage guidance or couple’s counselling. You might even benefit from speaking to a therapist 1-1 about any martial issues you’re experiencing. 

Once you have explored these other avenues and are still certain this is what you want, then it will make the divorce process a lot easier to deal with mentally. Once a divorce is final, you don’t want to end up regretting it. 

2. Find a Divorce Lawyer 

If filing for a divorce is the decided route to take, the first thing you’re going to want to do is find a divorce lawyer who will help and support you all the way through from the start to the end of your case.

Having a legal professional by your side to give you advice, help you understand your rights, responsibilities and help you understand the next steps is a huge part of the preparation process, and finding the right divorce lawyer to help you through is essential.

Here are some key considerations when finding the right divorce lawyer for you:

• Are they fully trained and experienced in family law?
• Can they show positive testimonials from past clients?
• Have they been recommended by friends or family?
• Do they fit your budget?
• Do they show empathy and sympathy? 
• Do you feel comfortable with them?

At Harding Evans, our specialist divorce solicitors in South Wales are expertly trained in all aspects of divorce. As we recognise that divorce is an upsetting and unsettling time, our solicitors always strive to deal with each case with the highest level of sensitivity.

Get in touch with a member of our team today to discuss the next steps. We’ll be with you every step of the way. 

3. Decide How You’ll Tell Your Children

Divorce is an emotionally challenging time for all parties involved, and is especially unsettling for children.

At one point, however much you might be dreading it, you’re going to have to tell your children about the divorce. The best way to approach this is to firstly, seek legal help from your divorce lawyer as they can help you to understand the next steps so that you can clearly explain to your children when they inevitably ask questions.

When it comes to actually telling your children about the divorce, we recommend that you, if possible, do it as a team. Even if the news doesn’t come as a surprise to the children, it will likely be an emotional time and it’s important that you’re both there to support them through it. No matter what their age, you should talk to them, and more importantly, listen regarding the topic of divorce and answer any questions they might have.

Read more about putting your children first during a divorce here.

4. Organise Your Finances

The financial impact of getting divorced is often the biggest practical concern as it can have significant consequences for your standard of living and potentially, your ability to meet your basic needs. This highlights the importance of getting professional legal advice from a family lawyer as early as possible. 

Collect and organise all of your financial documents, such as bank statements, income statements, tax returns, mortgage information, and details about any assets and debts. Having a clear financial picture makes the divorce process that little bit easier.

You’ll need to think about how you will meet your immediate living costs (including those of your children) while going through the divorce process. To agree to a financial settlement, It typically takes at least several months and, if court proceedings are necessary, it can take much longer to split your finances.

If you have been reliant on your spouse’s income during the marriage, it’s time to think about new ways you will fund your living costs. This could include looking at what benefits you could be entitled to and whether you may be entitled to spousal maintenance.

During this time you should also gather all asset information by creating a comprehensive (and accurate) list of assets and debts acquired during the marriage. This includes things like real estate, vehicles, investments, and personal property. 

An expert family lawyer will be able to guide you on how to financially prepare for a divorce, including what you are entitled to in a divorce settlement, giving you a clear picture of what to expect. 

5. Update Beneficiary Information

Another important step is to review and update beneficiary designations on insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other financial assets. This ensures that your assets go to the intended beneficiaries.

If you have already made a Will which includes your spouse as an executor and/or beneficiary, until you receive your decree absolute, your spouse remains entitled to any gifts you leave to them and will be entitled to take up their role as executor. To ensure that your assets go to the intended beneficiaries, you must update your Will as early as possible in the divorce process.

6. Seek Emotional Support

There’s no avoiding the fact that a divorce can be mentally taxing. Not only do you have to deal with the fact that your relationship has come to an end, but you’ve got a lot of things to sort out and a lot of important decisions to make. 

It’s incredibly mentally challenging, which is why it’s absolutely vital that you take the necessary steps to care for both your emotional well-being and mental health along the way. 

Friends, family, a therapist and even legal experts can be integral in working out issues and helping you deal with this challenging time. 

At Harding Evans, as well as being experts in the legal aspects of divorce, our solicitors will also deal with your case with sensitivity and concern to help you through these difficult times.

Everyone needs sympathy and consideration when a civil partnership or marriage ends, and as family law specialists, our team will be able to help and guide you with financial issues, and any matters involving the interests of your children.

At Harding Evans, our divorce solicitors in Cardiff and Newport are experts in all aspects of divorce. Get in touch with a member of our friendly team today to determine the next steps. And for more legal tips, check out our regularly updated law blog.