- Thinking with your heart instead of your head: Letting your emotions get the best of you during your divorce can carry heavy consequences. Sentimental attachments to marital assets like the family home can cloud your judgment and leave you with an obligation you can’t really afford in the long run. Fighting with your spouse or responding angrily to a combative spouse makes negotiation difficult and prolongs the process—costing you valuable time and eroding away the assets you need to care for yourself and your family.
- Involving the kids: If you and your spouse are raising children, avoid making threats to parental visitation and custody. These threats are rarely held up in the courtroom and you risk damaging your relationship with your kids once the divorce is final and adjustment begins.
- Posting too much online: After an argument with your spouse, you may be tempted to do a little venting on social media. Internet posts that attack your spouse or photos that document questionable behavior can become ammunition in the courtroom. Discourage friends and family from bashing your ex online, because their words can also bear weight in your divorce proceeding. If it’s too late and you’ve already made disparaging posts, resist the urge to delete them because it can be construed as destroying evidence. You can block your ex from accessing your online profiles, but you may not know how many acquaintances you have in common, or who is watching your online behavior.
- Giving up financial power: If your spouse handled the finances during your marriage, there could be bank accounts, debt or financial assets of which you are unaware. Learn as much as you can about your family’s financial situation before negotiations begin so you can protect your future interests. Take steps to protect assets from being liquidated or changed without your consent. Read all proposed settlements carefully, and assess the division of financial assets by how much they’ll be worth after taxes.
- Not hiring an attorney: You may want to handle your divorce on your own to save money, or simply because you don’t think your situation is complicated enough to warrant retaining counsel. Divorce comes with an incredible amount of paperwork and major financial decisions that can be complicated by sadness, fear and anger. Having a skilled divorce attorney representing you provides you with an ally who understands what is at stake and will work for your best possible outcome.
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