We hope you have enjoyed our blog series on Arizona divorce. In case you missed the other 2 blogs, you can view them here.
The storm clouds on the horizon of your marriage have you thinking that you might be headed for divorce. It’s a scary thought. It’s occasionally an exciting thought. Let’s face it, if you are thinking about divorce it’s because you’re pretty sure there is some greener grass that you’re missing out on. But that doesn’t make the process any easier. Change is HARD.
Even if you’re not sure yet which way you’ll ultimately go, there are a few things you should do to put yourself in a better place should you need to move in that direction.
Make sure you have access to cash – I’m surprised how often I find couples where one party controls ALL the financial strings. If you are that party, no problem for you but shame on you. Money needs to be a partnership. If you’re the other party, you HAVE to make a plan. Once the divorce becomes real, you’re extremely vulnerable. How will you hire an attorney or mediator? How will you be able to afford to move out if you plan to?
If you don’t have one yet, get a credit card in your own name. That’s step one. Second, open a bank account in your own name. Ideally this is a discussion with your spouse about having a better balance for the two of you. If that’s not possible and there is abusive financial control going on, then open it without telling them. It might be that the only way you can start your own savings account is to start getting cash back in small dollar amounts with every purchase you make and depositing it into that new account.
Please don’t misunderstand, I’m NOT advocating for dishonesty in marriage but if one party is preventing the other from accessing their financial information, that’s financial abuse and isn’t likely to change.
Do Your Homework – Now is the time to get educated. Download everything you can from my website, read my blogs, go to the Arizona Superior Court website and read up on the process. Know your rights! You may want to have a free consultation with someone like me or a Family Law attorney that is recommended to you by friends. I do suggest you get recommendations as attorneys have a bad reputation for good reasons. You want to find the good ones. My office can give you referrals too.
Build a Support Team – The next 6 months are going to be a challenge. You need people you can count on to be there. Choose your core friends that will be in that circle. Find professionals that will give you information too. Smarter Divorce Solutions is a wonderful resource for information and for women in Arizona, and the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation is a miraculous organization that offers divorce support through great workshops like The Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce.
Get your ducks in a row and then no matter what happens, you’ll be better prepared for it. You can do this!
Do you live in Arizona and are you considering divorce? If so, please contact our team for a complimentary consultation or download our complimentary Ebook: 5 Things to Do Before You Decide on Divorce to make sure you have all of your questions answered before you make your decision.
