What’s going to happen in the divorce process?
There are three main areas of your life which will be affected:
Emotional: You will be experiencing a very difficult time emotionally, but you will get through this and eventually find peace of mind. There are a lot of reasons for divorce — circumstances that have caused you to make this big decision; it’s not something that you just decided to do. So know that you’re probably going to be an emotional wreck for a while, and do everything possible to help yourself get through this, such as counseling, your friends, your church, whatever emotional support systems that help you. Get in touch with them now and use them. There are also a lot of divorce and separation groups to support you, and your Divorce with Dignity provider will share these divorce resources with you.
Legal: You will be entering into a legal process—that’s the only way to get through this even when you’re in agreement. At Divorce with Dignity we can assist you through the divorce process without a court battle if you’re both comfortable with trying to achieve an amicable divorce. If you’re not, then some suggested books from Nolo Press for you to read, are:
“A Judge’s Guide to Divorce: Uncommon Advice from the Bench” by Roderic Duncan, (Nolo 2007)
“Make any Divorce Better! Specific steps to make things smoother, faster, less painful and save you a LOT of money” by Ed Sherman, (Nolo 2008)
The legal arena is where you start and end your divorce, and if you both eventually come to an agreement then you may not even have to go to court—Divorce with Dignity can take care of everything and assist you through the process. If you cannot come to an agreement, you can expect to pay anywhere from $5,000 and up to attorneys to fight your case, and you probably will end up with much less than you originally wanted and a horrible court battle. So even if you’re fighting mad, don’t take it to the court unless there is no other alternative. Find some other ways to get rid of your aggressions and you will save thousands of dollars and find your peace of mind a lot sooner.
Financial: Well, this is a very difficult area, and it’s often harder to live off of one salary than two, but it’s helpful to come up with your budget so you know how you’re going to live and then figure out the financial aspects of your divorce. In most states, you have to go through your financial information as part of the legal process, so you can get started on that with your Divorce with Dignity provider and we make this process as easy as possible. If you need more assistance, we can refer you to a financial planner, CPA or other service more appropriate to your needs. Many people know what their income is and the bills they have to pay, but don’t even like to think about it. We help you sit down and put this on paper and then we can type it in a format acceptable to the courts—we do everything we can to make this process as easy as possible. Even if you don’t have all your numbers, that’s okay, just get started and you will then find it a lot easier to fill in the blanks once you know what you need to do.