When divorce arrives at your door, it is difficult to know who to respond. You may feel a strong need to preserve yourself and your interests above all else, or you feel tempted to act out against your spouse and use the divorce as a stage to enact some form vengeance on them to make up for your emotional injuries. These tendencies are reasonable and normal, but not necessarily wise or helpful.
In fact, you may wish in retrospect that you had considered your actions more carefully once you pass through this difficult season and begin rebuilding your life as a single person. Before you take any action that may complicate your divorce, consider these helpful boundaries.
Do not attempt to divorce without professional legal counsel, especially if your relationship with your soon-to-be former spouse is volatile. You may make costly mistakes out of ignorance of the potential consequences.
Do not allow your spouse or any children in the marriage see you lose composure, if possible. This is not to say that you must remain calm and controlled in all circumstances, but rather that it is wise to isolate those moments where you lose composure apart from your interactions with your spouse or moments of important decision-making.
Do not make any large decisions or life changes before the divorce finalizes, if at all possible. Few things hold the capacity to compromise your judgment like a divorce, and you will almost always be grateful that you chose to wait until your world levels out to make further big changes.
If you need further help understanding your options and rights in divorce, be sure to reach out to an experienced divorce attorney who can advise you of your options and help you build effective strategies to achieve your divorce goals fairly.
Source: Findlaw, “The Divorce Process: Do’s and Don’ts,” accessed Dec. 22, 2017