Pre-divorce planning can help you obtain the best possible outcome in the divorce, whatever your circumstances may be.
Did your spouse file for divorce? Don’t sit idly by waiting for the other party to make the next move. Start searching for a divorce attorney to represent you. Then begin preparing for the legal proceedings under your divorce lawyer’s guidance and instruction. There are many important matters to consider in the dissolution of a marriage. Take some time to contemplate what it is you truly desire from the divorce, given what the law in your jurisdiction will allow.
Preparing for Divorce and a New Lifestyle
Pre-divorce planning is accomplished on many levels:
● Emotional Planning
● Financial Planning
● Estate Planning
● Insurance Planning
First, there are the emotional aspects of divorce. The spouses may have participated in marriage counseling, which often helps them get past certain problems even when reconciliation was not possible. Many individuals choose to participate in divorce counseling, even before the case is filed. Not only to help get past the sorrow, anger, grief, and other intense feelings so often associated with the end of a relationship, but also to learn how to deal effectively with those emotions when they resurface. Keeping a clear head and making wise decisions while under extreme pressure are useful life skills, even beyond divorce.
Second, there are the financial aspects of divorce. Separation from one’s spouse necessarily involves maintaining two different households. Where once the spouses enjoyed two incomes, each will have to live separately on one income. Estimating future expenses, calculating alimony and child support, and understanding the tax consequences of divorce are essential when preparing for a different lifestyle after the marriage is over. For many individuals, advice from a certified public accountant or tax attorney can be very helpful in anticipating one’s future tax liability.
Third, prepare for changes to one’s estate plan after divorce. An estate plan typically includes a Last Will and Testament, inter vivos trust (living trust), power of attorney, living will, and designation of healthcare advocate, among other things. Most of these estate instruments will need amending or revoking given the divorce, which represents a substantial change in circumstances. Arranging to meet with an estate planning lawyer before the divorce, or soon thereafter, is a good idea. Although not all changes may be implemented before the final decree of divorce, everything can be decided and readied in advance.
Fourth, prepare for changes to one’s insurance coverage. Some insurance changes, such as life insurance beneficiary designations, may have to wait until after the divorce is final unless the court permits the change. This is because the preliminary injunction is typically in effect automatically when the divorce is filed. The injunction prohibits such unilateral actions that impact the family. (With the divorce pending and absent a court order to the contrary, a husband cannot remove his wife as the primary beneficiary of his life insurance, for example, until after the divorce is final.) But advance planning allows for quick implementation after the marriage is dissolved.
A little pre-divorce planning could help you obtain most of your objectives, setting the stage for your new life after the divorce is final.
Stephen Vertucci is a family law and divorce attorney in Fort Collins, Colorado. The firm has helped many clients navigate the legal complexities of divorce, child custody, spousal support, property division, parental visitation, and child relocation disputes.
