Legal Advice for Families Facing a Divorce

A divorce is a serious, life-changing event. While you and your spouse might be going through extreme stress and high emotions, your children are most likely suffering from the same. In a divorce where an entire family is involved it’s important to consider not only the emotions of you and your spouse, but of the children and other family members involved.

Hire an Attorney

It’s best to hire a family law attorney when you’re facing divorce. An attorney can help you and your spouse fill out the necessary paperwork, protect your rights, and make sure that things are settled as amicably as possible. While a do-it-yourself divorce is always possible, it’s in the best interest of yourself and your family to have an attorney -- who has the emotional distance from your situation -- to help settle your divorce.

Think Before You Make Decisions

Divorces are full of emotions and unfortunately in that whirlwind of emotion you have a lot of important decisions to make -- such as how you will handle your home, split finances, setup visitation with the children, etc. When making these decisions, consider all consequences of the decision you make before you make it.

Be Honest with Your Attorney

You must provide your attorney with all of the fact so that he or she can analyze your divorce case appropriately. Never hide anything from your attorney -- hiding information can actually harm your case.

Look for Court Alternatives

Not all divorce cases go to court. In fact, there are ways to settle your divorce without ever stepping into the courtroom. If you can, go through mediation -- a process where you meet with a neutral third party to resolve your case. Another option is a collaborative divorce, where you and your spouse share an attorney.

While it can be difficult to think of the future, how you handle your divorce now can affect how your family copes with the divorce in the future. Take your time, be rational, and seek advice from legal counsel to make the divorce process as painless as possible.