Ten Divorce Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Trying to save money by avoiding an in-depth consultation with a lawyer who devotes a large part of his/her practice to family law.
  2. Not taking the time to find out how much money you will need to live on after you’re divorced. People who have no budget have no idea how much they’ll reasonably need to live on until it’s too late.
  3. Not knowing how much debt you have and who is going to be obligated to pay it. If one party agrees in writing to pay a debt and fails to do so, will you still be liable for it? Will you have to pay it even if the divorce decree says your spouse is responsible for it?
  4. Wanting out of the marriage so quickly that you don’t pay close enough attention to the money actually changing hands or skimming over language in a marital settlement agreement without being sure what it really means.
  5. Trying a “do-it-yourself” divorce, writing your own divorce agreement or going to a paralegal, who is prohibited by law from giving you legal advice.
  6. Accepting child custody terms that will not work out for legal and/or practical reasons. Or, agreeing to vague visitation provisions which may prove unworkable or unfavorable in the future.
  7. Being unaware of the interrelationship between child support, alimony and visitation or how child support is factored and what needs to be included in your calculations.
  8. Finalizing a property settlement agreement without knowing how it affects your pre-marital and separate assets; or how much of any pension, profit sharing, 401-k, IRA or other retirement plan you are entitled to.
  9. Agreeing to settle for alimony or division of marital property without knowing its fairness, its tax consequences or learning how these issues can be maximized to give both parties a larger share of the pie without violating tax laws.
  10. Thinking that if it turns out that you don’t like the agreement or that it’s unfair to you, you can always go back to court and get it fixed.

Ten-Divorce-Mistakes-to-Avoid