The Top Five Mistakes of Divorce
I was quoted in an article on AOL highlighting the Top Five Mistakes to Avoid in a Divorce.
According to the article, the top five mistakes are:
1. Failing to be prepared with copies of all relevant financial and legal documents;
2. Failing to obtain financial advice as part of the divorce. Parties often fail to consider impact of taxes on the assets to be distributed. Other assets need to be appraised;
3. Failing to sell the marital home when you can ill afford to remain in it;
4. Failing to explore settlement or other avenues of dispute resolution and, instead, rushing into court; and
5. Failing to untangle assets and debts acquired during the marriage.
The list is far from exhaustive. In fact, the number one mistake on my list would be using the divorce to punish your spouse. Vindictive conduct or using the divorce to extract revenge only increases the acrimony, unhappiness and the emotional, psychological and economic costs of divorce.
It is interesting to me, as a finanical planner and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, to see that the "Top Five Mistakes to Avoid in a Divorce" all relate to finanical matters.Even Mistake #4, "Failing to explore settlement or other avenues of dispute resolution and, instead, rushing into court," has a finanical basis in the fact that litigated divorces tend to cost more and take longer than divorces that are either mediated or settled through Collaborative Law.
I agree with Mr. Clement that trying to punish your spouse through the adversarial process only leads to a negative outcome. I would add that a vindictive spouse is usually not the initiator of the divorce, and their anger is a result of their feelings of victimization.
For most people, divorce is often the biggest economic decision that they make during ther lifetime. By consulting with a divorce financial planner before the settlement is finalized, an individual is empowered to understand the impact of a divorce settlement, and therefore be better prepared to move forward towards a new chapter in their life.The incremental cost that is incurred in consulting with a finanical expert before and during the divorce process, is an investment that pays off for many years to come.
I've been married for 35 years. This man just told me that he olny married me because of my daughter, at the time she was 5 years old. He said that he was in love with her he never love me. I have been catching hell. I have everything he said recorded. He stole 35 years from me, what are my legal rights