Planning for Your Future Prior to Divorce

It is essential to take some time before divorce to carry out advance financial planning, focus on the children’s needs, and seek competent professionals to provide guidance.

Getting Organized Financially

Failing to plan one’s post-divorce finances can result in unrealistic beliefs and expectations. It is common for families with two incomes to get used to a particular standard of living only to be caught off guard by the financial changes that accompany divorce.

It is critical to perform proper financial planning before starting one’s divorce. A person should consider his or her current living expenses when living together with his or her spouse as well as what his or her needs will be and what exactly he or she will be able to afford when living separately.

Keeping Children’s Best Interest in Mind

The decisions that will have to be made during divorce will affect children in a wide range of ways. When planning for divorce, people should consider the well-being and happiness of their children and make decisions accordingly. Generally, it is best for children to have a relationship with both parents and be impacted by the divorce to the least extent possible.

A parent will have to plan not to badmouth his or her spouse in front of the kids. He or she will also have to examine post-marriage life for the children and consider things like:

  • Time-sharing agreements
  • From whose house will the children attend school
  • What the boundaries are when a parent is picking up or dropping off the children

Seeking Professional Assistance

There are several ways that one can work through the divorce process. What works for one person may not work best for another person’s situation. For that reason, it is best for someone to seek information from professionals like financial advisors and divorce lawyers near him or her.

These professionals offer legal advice, facts, and objectivity. They help people understand where they stand, what may happen in their cases, and help them choose the options that will work best for their specific situations.

The more valuable information a person has, the smoother the divorce process will be for him or her. The steps above will help one acquire crucial information that will help make the process less stressful.

Kimberly Surratt served for eight years on the executive council and has been the vice chair and then chair of the State Bar of Nevada Family Law Section. In addition, she is the President-Elect of the Nevada Justice Association and the chair of the domestic lobbying committee. She has lobbied with the Nevada Justice Association since 2004.

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