Divorce is always a messy affair. The longer a marriage lasted and the more assets between spouses, the messier still. Nobody wants to think about what happens when children are involved.
No matter how you slice it, going through a divorce is no walk in the park. If you listen, read, and learn everything you can about divorce law beforehand, you can make it a little easier, though.
Here are 3 common divorce mistakes that you should avoid if you want to come out the other side unscathed.
1. Cutting Corners
It is a perfectly logical response to just want to be done with the divorce process. But when you give in to that state of mind and start agreeing to things just to skip lengthy negotiations, you risk losing so much.
According to one Tampa divorce lawyer, contested divorces can take up to six months in Florida. That seems like a lifetime, but when you strap in and stay focused throughout, you’ll end up with a fair and balanced result that can help sustain you afterward, learn more here about the practive.
2. Planning For Yourself
The whole of your family’s financial reality is complex without a divorce lawyer to help guide you through the process. Without working knowledge of how finances work, it can be difficult to adequately plan for a fair or realistic divorce settlement. You need to consider things like the coming changes to your tax situation, future expenses, liquidity balance, and more when fairly dividing assets.
Don’t take this burden on yourself and don’t trust your spouse to do the heavy lifting for you. Hire an independent financial analyst to help you cross the T’s and dot the I’s so you stay protected through the process.
3. Assuming Alimony is Endless
The unfortunate reality is that even if your spouse does uphold his or her end of the bargain and make regular alimony payments, those are never guaranteed for long. If that former spouse loses his or her job, becomes unable to work, or passes away, your checks won’t keep coming.
When you receive alimony that part of your income can be out of your control. There are insurance policies that you can take against these payments. If something happens that alters your ability to collect alimony, these policies will kick in and you won’t lose that income.
The bottom line is that while a divorce is messy, it is also a very detail-oriented family law process and if you want to come out of yours without being ripped off, you need to be involved and smart about the decisions you make.