7 Divorce Mistakes to Avoid

Everyone said divorce would be hard, but if you’re in an unhappy relationship, it needs to be done. It’s easy to try and get through it as fast as possible or to try and play nice to avoid conflict, but you only hurt yourself most of all. There are so many mistakes people make during divorce that they can avoid with the help of a proper divorce attorney. Luckily, the team at Kalinoski Law Offices has the experience you need to avoid the most common divorce mistakes.

Divorce Mistakes That Are Easy to Make

These mistakes can turn the tide in your divorce settlement. This can mean you lose out on marital assets you should receive or have to pay more alimony than what is fair. In the worst situations involving children, you can be left at a disadvantage in terms of custody and visitation. Some of these mistakes are ones you make unconsciously and have to be on your toes about. Others you make because you want to have an amicable divorce. Fight against those feelings, and avoid these divorce mistakes.

#1. Agreeing to a One-Sided Settlement Agreement

This is incredibly common when one partner wants to finish the divorce as quickly as possible. While agreeing to all, if not most, of your soon-to-be ex-spouse’s demands will speed up your divorce, it leaves you in a terrible place.

More often than not, a one-sided settlement agreement can leave you:

• Without many of your valuable marital assets
• A lackluster custody agreement
• Lackluster alimony or child support
• An unfair amount of marital debt

#2. Forgetting About Taxes

Unless you somehow finalize your divorce exactly on the last day of the calendar tax year, you’re going to have to worry about filing for the previous year with your partner. Things that affect your taxes include just about everything that goes into a divorce settlement. This includes:

• Marital assets
• Child custody
• Marital debt
• Sale of any marital assets
• Any retirement/pension plans that you have to separate

#3. Failing/Refusing to Speak to Your Spouse

As much as you don’t want to speak to or see your soon-to-be ex-spouse again, you have to communicate with them during a divorce. If things are so heated that you can’t speak to each other, you must be willing to set up intermediaries. Your attorneys can help with this position.

You must then make sure you are as detailed and specific with your attorney as possible. If you miss a single detail, your attorney will be at a disadvantage during negotiations.

#4. Not Changing Your Estate Plans

You should be consulting with your estate planning attorney to ensure your estate plans don’t include your ex-spouse. If you have an advanced directive, a trust, a will, or anything else, you do not want your spouse to be listed in it. This can give them control over your medical decisions if you lose your functioning capacity, or leave them your assets after your death. In either case, this isn’t what you want.

#5. Using Your Children During the Divorce

We don’t mean you should forget about child custody, visitation, or child support when working through your divorce. We mean that you shouldn’t try to coerce your child into saying certain things or doing certain things to manipulate your spouse. This can damage your standing with the civil court, your divorce proceedings, and potentially your relationship with your kids.

The only exception would be in cases of abuse, where their testimony can work towards bettering their safety and yours.

#6. Hiding Marital Assets

It’s never worth it to hide marital assets. You need to be honest with your attorney, and ultimately with your spouse. The court demands that you disclose everything, and hiding assets from your spouse means you are also hiding them from the court. This is fraud, which is highly illegal, and bound to get you in more legal trouble than any asset can be worth.

#7. Avoid Social Media

Anything you say or do, your spouse can use against you if they find out about it. This can be something as simple as photos from a vacation, or a work function. Anything that shows you have new assets for them to ask for, or prove that you don’t have time for your kids, will be taken out of context and used against you. You can save all of your random thoughts and life events until after the divorce is over.

Talk to An Attorney For Helping Avoiding Divorce Mistakes

Divorce is a long and stressful process, and making these mistakes isn’t going to make it any better. Work with the experienced attorney at Kalinoski Law Offices so you can get the marital assets you need, the child custody agreement you want, and the peace of mind you deserve. Divorce is hard, but it doesn’t have to be back-breaking. Contact us today.

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