Prepare for some common divorce issues before filing

Divorce is fraught with potential financial and legal pitfalls that the splitting spouses must navigate — sometimes together, but often apart. When you are going through a divorce, it is absolutely vital that you obtain your own, independent legal counsel to ensure that your divorce is being handled in the right way.

Still, there are some very serious issues that you need to consider. There are certain mistakes that splitting spouses can make that will make the divorcing process a far more troubling endeavor and your post-divorce life far less fulfilling. So here are a few things to carefully consider when you are dealing with a divorce:

• The house: This may seem like an obvious asset that any spouse should fight for in a divorce, right? Not so, actually. The house can end up costing a spouse dearly in upkeep costs and taxes if they are to win it in a divorce. So if the house is on the chopping block in a divorce, make sure you think through the whole situation before proceeding to fight for it.
• Don’t intentionally provoke or antagonize your spouse: This is a poisonous route that will likely lead to unnecessary, complicated and expensive legal action that neither spouse wants.
• Know your assets and liabilities: Even though you may have knowledge of your marital assets and your separate assets, it is still important to review these assets — and your liabilities — now that your life is completely changing.

Source: Forbes, “Divorce and Money: Six Costly Mistakes,” Veronica Dagher, May 15, 2015