A divorce can be damaging to you and your kids and it can rip a family apart. Friends and family might take sides and kids might feel torn between their parents. Maybe you’re filing for divorce or your spouse has started divorce proceedings against you. Understanding how the divorce process works helps you to see how it might affect you. Experienced legal counsel can walk you through every step and represent your best interests.
How a Divorce Affects You and Your Family
A divorce can be traumatizing for both you and your family. It’s one of the reasons psychologists recommend staying amicable during divorce proceedings.
Ways to Help Your Family
Tensions and misunderstandings can leave permanent damage. Consider a parent that wants permanent child custody. They may manipulate children to favor one parent over the other. You may want to start therapy or family counseling to have someone to talk to and have help for your children. Your attorney can also help.
During a divorce, there are tough decisions to make:
You or your spouse will likely move out of the home.
Child custody, child support, visitation, and alimony discussions may start.
If children are in the home, consider curtailing dating until your divorce is final. You may also want to stop any drinking or excessive partying behaviors. Your spouse may look for ways to prove you’re an unfit parent.
You may need to limit exposing your children to new people you are dating and avoid confrontations with your spouse. This avoids giving them added “ammunition” in a custody battle.
Divorce Time-Frames and Establishing Fault
Consulting an attorney can help you map out a game plan and establish a time frame for your divorce.
Consensual no-fault divorces may settle as early as 90 days after filing. With fault divorces, one party must prove grounds for divorce, i.e., adultery, cruelty, desertion, imprisonment, or insanity.
Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy is staying in an unhappy marriage.
What Happens During Divorce Proceedings
When divorce proceedings start, there are several documents that need to be filled out with the court system and several forms you need to provide your attorney. You will be required to provide:
Bank statements
Property and asset documentation
Tax information, salary confirmation, and pay stubs
Insurance policies
You may need to consult with your accountant, tax attorney, employer, and bank.
To start your divorce proceedings, your attorney will have you list all your assets and debts. This helps with divorce settlement negotiations. Your attorney and your spouse’s attorney can help divide all assets and set up alimony. You will need to map out everything you own and the debts you owe.
What You Own
What you own might include your home(s), vehicles, financial assets, retirement accounts, any artwork, belongings you bought during the marriage, and any inheritances.
What You Owe
What you owe might include your mortgage, any vehicles, credit card debt, and other forms of debt. To help you with this process, pull your credit report and run a separate report on your spouse with each credit reporting agency to ensure you have all debts included.
Gather all the data you have and include your income and your spouse’s income. Anything you’re not able to find you can retrieve during the discovery process.
When Children are Involved
Going through a divorce if you have children can be very difficult. Because of the high stress levels the process can feel overwhelming to you and your kids. You are not alone because you have experienced legal counsel that is there to support you.
Why Hiring an Experienced Divorce Attorney Matters
Divorces can be hard. At the most stressful and tense times, it can feel like “the gloves are coming off”, meaning your spouse may come against you with false accusations. They may start fights or a custody battle can ensue. Emotions can be tense and tempers high.
To help you hire an experienced lawyer:
When you’re ready to speak to a divorce attorney, interview a few divorce lawyers first before hiring them.
Hire an attorney that has at least 5-10 years of experience and specializes in family law and divorce law.
Confirm that your lawyer will offer a “collaborative” approach to your divorce settlement to help reach a settlement. This is less expensive than litigation.
If litigation is the only option, confirm your attorney will represent you in front of a judge. This ensures the attorney can help you reach a fast and fair settlement. They can also fight for your rights, if necessary.
When you hire an experienced and reputable divorce attorney in Wilkes Barre PA, they will represent you when you need the most support.
Let an Experienced Legal Team Go to Work for You
A divorce can impact you and your family for the rest of your lives. For the best result with your case, don’t leave your future to random attorneys you found online. When you need a divorce lawyer in PA, hire the best and most experienced legal team with a proven track record.
The Law Offices of Matthew Kelly Associates is located in Kingston, Pennsylvania and Matthew Kelly has helped to represent families in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre area for more than 25 years. When you’re facing a divorce, don’t go through this traumatizing time alone. Contact Matthew Kelly Associates for a free and confidential consultation today.