The divorce process is likely to be one of the most stressful and challenging experiences of your life. Even if you are sure about ending your marriage, the legal process of divorce can be tremendously difficult in many ways. Unfortunately, the stress and emotional strain of the divorce experience can spur some individuals toward making critical mistakes that cost them dearly in the long run. If you are preparing to divorce in Tulsa, OK, review the following common mistakes, so you know what not to do during this difficult time in your life.
Don’t Talk About Your Divorce Publicly
When you are facing a difficult and deeply personal situation like divorce, it is natural to want to reach out to others for advice and comfort. However, you should keep these conversations private and avoid posting about your divorce on social media. Even if you think your posts are harmless, everything you post online is publicly available and may eventually be used against you by your spouse in divorce proceedings.
As a general rule, attorneys typically encourage their clients to avoid social media entirely while involved in active legal cases. While you can feel free to browse your social media feeds without engaging, do not post anything until your case reaches a conclusion.
Don’t Try to Negatively Influence Your Children
If you are divorcing and you and your spouse have children, the stress of the entire situation is naturally much higher than any divorce without children. Unfortunately, some people attempt to turn their children against their spouses, hoping to secure greater custody rights or more child support. Never do anything that interferes with your children’s relationships with their other parent. Doing so will only backfire against you. Once your children discover that you lied to them and damaged their relationship with their other parent out of your desire for personal gain, it will create an immense rift between you and your children.
Be honest with your kids and try to be sympathetic to their situations. The divorce is not their fault, but they likely feel as though they are being punished and do not fully understand what is happening in their home. Both you and your spouse have obligations as parents that are completely separate from the personal issues between the two of you. Make sure to maintain this separation and acknowledge the fact that unless your coparent has been neglectful or abusive, they have as much of a right to be in their children’s lives as you do.
Don’t Overlook Alternative Dispute Resolution
When most people envision divorce, they imagine an emotionally charged court battle, but it does not have to be this way in your divorce case. Alternative dispute resolution like mediation can offer you and your spouse a more palatable alternative to typical divorce litigation. This process is affordable, efficient, and ultimately helps divorcing spouses reach mutually agreeable results in their cases much faster than many of them expect.
Mediation requires a neutral mediator, a legal professional tasked with guiding you and your spouse through your divorce proceedings and helping you draft a divorce order that suits both of you. While you cannot solve every aspect of your divorce through mediation, you can cover the bulk of the issues your divorce entails and then proceed to court to handle the rest. Mediation is also more affordable than litigation. Both you and your spouse can save a significant amount of time and money, potentially reaching a resolution in a fraction of the time that litigation would require.
Never Try to Hide Assets
Financial disclosure is a crucial element of any divorce case. Both spouses must completely and accurately disclose their financial records to ensure a fair and balanced property division. Unfortunately, the thought of dividing assets is unconscionable to some divorcing spouses, spurring them to engage in illegal behavior to shield their assets from division. If you attempt to hide assets from your divorce proceedings, it is very likely that your activities will be discovered, and you will face criminal prosecution. Additionally, once your obfuscation comes to light, it will significantly diminish your standing in the eyes of the Tulsa, OK family court system, likely resulting in a final divorce decree that is much different from what you may have envisioned.
Work closely with your Tulsa, OK divorce attorney to ensure that your financial disclosure is complete and accurate. If you have any difficulty producing certain financial records or are unsure of what you need to disclose, your attorney can help with these issues as well. Additionally, your attorney can help you establish your separate property ownership rights over any assets, properties, or items you own that qualify as your own separate property.
Don’t Overlook the Importance of Legal Representation
One of the biggest mistakes anyone can make as they enter divorce proceedings is doing so without legal counsel on their side. Even if you and your spouse are relatively agreeable toward one another and have reached a mutual decision to divorce, do not expect to handle every aspect of the divorce process on your own. Hiring a reliable and experienced Tulsa, OK divorce attorney is the best way to protect your interests in divorce proceedings and increase your chances of securing the best possible result in your divorce case.
The right attorney can eliminate much of the stress you’ll experience during the divorce process. They can help you determine the best approach, whether that would be direct litigation or exploring alternative dispute resolution. They can assist you with your financial disclosure and securing the important documentation you will need throughout your case. Your attorney can also prepare you for court appearances, mediation sessions, depositions, and other elements of your divorce case. Ultimately, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing your divorce case is in capable hands when you work with an experienced Tulsa, OK divorce lawyer.
If you are preparing to end your marriage, it’s vital to connect with an attorney who can help you make sense of your situation and prepare for the difficult legal proceedings ahead of you. Contact an experienced Tulsa, OK divorce attorney as soon as possible to start working on your divorce case.
