If you are going through a divorce or planning to do so in 2015, your New Year’s resolutions this year have been very different than the people around you. While most New Year’s resolutions fail soon after the new year starts, there are promises that you should make to yourself to help you get through your divorce and move forward in life.
Before Starting the Divorce
Before you begin the divorce process, be sure to resolve to:
- Establish a support system: You most certainly will need the emotional support of your friends and family when going through a divorce. However, you also need to have financial and legal support. Speak with an experienced divorce attorney to help you understand how the process works.
- Be organized: You will need to organize all legal documents and financial paperwork. These documents will likely include insurance policies, bank statements for all accounts, credit card and loan statements, mortgage documentation, and tax returns.
- Think of your children with each decision: When you divorce, it is easy to allow your emotions to influence your decisions. You may feel stress, sadness, anger, or emotional exhaustion at varying times throughout the process. However, you must remain focused on your future and the future of your children. No matter what happens during your divorce, there will come a point in the future where you will reflect on how you and your children handled this situation. It makes it easier to get through the divorce process when you are able to act with strength and keep a clear head. Keeping the best interests of your children in focus when making decisions can help you keep your emotions in check.
During the Divorce Process
The divorce process can be taxing, so to help you keep things in perspective and your eye on the big picture, resolve to:
- Allow yourself to heal and forgive: It’s easy to hold onto hurt and anger, but this will make the divorce process more difficult. When you forgive yourself and your spouse for past mistakes, you can begin to heal. Your divorce attorney can help you find a divorce counselor or therapist who can help you deal with the wide range of emotions you may feel.
- Stay focused on the protection of your financial stability: Regardless if you controlled the family’s finances during your marriage, you must focus on your financial stability going forward. Start with your income and expenses and your liabilities and assets. List all income and everything that is paid out each month.
Understand your assets, such as retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, jewelry, art, real estate, vehicles, boats, collections and collectables, household belongings, and if applicable, intellectual property, business property and assets, trademarks, and patents. Store these documents in a private, secure place. Once you have a grasp of your complete financial picture, you and your financial advisor or attorney can begin determining how these assets should be distributed during the divorce process.
- Make the most of your child visitation: Once one spouse moves from the home, child visitation will become an important consideration. You may feel out of control and overwhelmed during the divorce. Trying to be attentive and responsive to the concerns of your children may seem like an impossible task. However, your children may be feeling overwhelmed, hurt or angry. Try to focus on building, repairing, and maintaining your relationship with your children through these times, and prepare for scheduled visits so you can make the most of the time you share with them.
- Take time for yourself regularly during the divorce process: At least once a week throughout the divorce process, if not every day, assign yourself some time to simply relax and de-stress. You will be able to cope much better with the stresses of divorce if you regularly give yourself time to relax and unwind.
Call the Divorce Attorneys at Wallin & Klarich Today
Making these resolutions, and holding to them will help you better deal with the strain of divorce. Rest assured, the experienced divorce attorneys at Wallin & Klarich will be beside you every step of the way. The attorneys at Wallin and Klarich have been successfully helping our clients achieve the best possible legal outcome in their divorce cases for over 30 years. Let us help you now.
With offices located in Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, Torrance, Tustin, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, West Covina and Victorville, one of our skilled attorneys are available to help you no matter where you work or live.
Call us today at (888) 749-7428 for a free phone consultation. We will get through this together.
