On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Family Law on Thursday, August 22, 2013.
It is not uncommon for one St. Louis spouse to want to try and work through marital issues, while the other is 100 percent adamant that divorce is the only option. In these cases, where emotions are tied up and each spouse is struggling to come to an agreement, it is easy to make snap decisions that can end up really hurting someone in the end.
To avoid a divorce that would be filled with regret later, the No. 1 piece of advice — aside from hiring an experienced attorney — is to make sure to fully understand the implications of a scenario before agreeing to anything. This means that if there are contingencies, make sure to understand what would happen if a piece of the puzzle did not fall just so.
Along these same lines, make sure to really have an understanding of finances, including income, expenses and the family’s budget, beforehand. Having this knowledge avoids either agreeing to less than what is feasible or more than what is affordable. This also helps in realistically coming up with a property division proposal.
Lastly, make sure the decisions being made are based on sound logic, rather than spite or anger. While it is understandable to be mad at an ex — and even want to see that ex emotionally or financially hurt — making decisions based on these emotions is not only unhealthy, it is not keeping the big picture in mind. No matter how tempting it may be, keep in mind that making a rash decision now based on hurt feelings could have a negative impact on a family’s economic well-being.
Source: The Huffington Post, “7 Tips to Avoiding a Disastrous Divorce,” Daniel Clement, Aug. 20, 2013.
