A divorce can be a stressful, scary process. Many people who begin the divorce process have no idea what to expect and are often very distracted by the challenges of a failing relationship, like moving to a new place, finding a new job, and caring for children who are involved in the divorce process.
Missouri divorce law requires that specific processes are completed before a divorce can be finalized. While it might be possible to try and tackle all of this work on your own, it is not recommended. You should always be prepared to secure the help of a skilled family law team to make sure that your divorce is handled correctly.
Things to Prepare for When Divorcing
1. Divorce Takes Time
The divorce process takes time. There is no way to make a divorce happen rapidly over the course of a couple of weeks. You will need to be prepared to work on your divorce for at least a few months. This is one of the reasons that you need to be sure that you have a skilled legal team on your side to help you take care of the divorce process.
You will have many other things to think about and take care of during the divorce process. It can be easy to miss deadlines or essential legal documents, which will then set back your divorce even further. Your legal team will take care of the work while you get back to living your life, making sure that you don’t forget any of the key aspects of the divorce process.
2. Divorce Can Include Alimony or Spousal Support
Not every divorce will include alimony or spousal support. However, if your divorce does include these considerations, this can be a highly contested part of the divorce process. Couples who own a business might also have added layers of complexity to manage as they split up their assets and determine who needs to support what and who is making what income each year.
Your legal team will help you figure out if alimony or spousal support is going to be a part of your divorce process. They can also help you to negotiate for a reasonable amount, no matter which side of the divorce you are on. This is an area of divorce law that typically requires negotiation and oversight by a judge to make sure that the right award is granted to both parties.
3. Divorce Will Impact Your Children
Your children will be impacted by the divorce—there is no way to avoid this fact. This means that you need to be sure that you are seeking the right amount of child support and a parenting plan that makes sense for both you and your former spouse.
Kids are often caught in the middle of bickering between former spouses, but a parenting plan helps to make sure that the reasons for dissension are minimal. Time with each parent will be laid out by law under the parenting agreement and things like child support and other financial considerations will also be covered by the parenting agreement.
This is one of the areas of divorce law that most people are not familiar with, which can lead to confusion during the divorce process. Your lawyer will help you to get a favorable parenting plan that is fair to all of the parties involved, with the kids at the top of the list of considerations related to this new plan.
4. Divorce Costs Money
While you should not have to pay a huge amount of money out of pocket for your divorce, you will have legal fees and other costs associated with your divorce. You will potentially need to find a new place to live, and you might need to foot your own bills for a time while alimony and child support are being taken care of as part of the divorce process.
Some people think that their divorce will be over right away, so they don’t need to worry about money. This can actually be a big mistake, and it can lead to stress that could have been avoided with a little better understanding of the divorce process.
Be sure to speak to your lawyer about your budget before you start the documentation and other divorce processes. Your legal team might be willing to work with you regarding their retainer, and they can typically advise you about the costs that you might incur during the divorce process. They will also be able to inform you about the expected timeline for your divorce process.
5. Sometimes Divorces Can Require Court Dates
Divorces cannot always be handled outside of the courtroom. This is the case when there are issues with regard to alimony or splitting up things like businesses that are jointly owned by the divorcing parties. In cases where there is no agreement between the former spouses, or there are large sums of money or large numbers of assets involved, divorces can sometimes require a hearing with a judge to finalize.
Make sure that you are prepared for this part of the divorce process if your situation indicates that this might be necessary. Many people are not prepared for this consideration and are unpleasantly shocked when they have to find time and patience to get through a court date or two related to their divorce.
Your Lawyer Can Help You Prepare for Your Divorce
If you have been worried about the divorce process or you are not aware of the many steps and stages of a legal divorce, you need to be sure that you work with a skilled legal team. Our team of legal experts has years of experience with divorce proceedings in the state of Missouri. We can help you finalize your divorce as efficiently as possible, and we will work hard to make sure that you get the favorable divorce settlement that you have been looking for.
