People tend to want to avoid professionals or hire only one professional for everything. A good professional is worth every penny you pay them. As well there are an abundance of professionals who are specially trained to guide you through your divorce. The key to saving time and money is using the professional that most fits the task at hand – the right person for the right job. For instance, instead of hiring a lawyer for everything, you may be better served by using a Divorce Financial specialist (CDFA or CFDS) for financial matters, a mediator for conflict resolution and negotiations, a children’s counselor for parenting plans, and a lawyer only for legal advice or drafting services. Unlike a lawyer, many of these other specialists can be shared between you and your spouse, reducing work and costs involved.
Regardless of the legal process you have chosen, be it mediation, collaboration, litigation, the courts or even DIY, in order for a separation agreement to be binding and enforceable, full financial disclosure must have taken place. A lack of financial disclosure is one of the main reasons that a court will set aside a separation agreement. Avoiding financial disclosure is one of the most expensive delays that will hinder completing your divorce. If a Separation Agreement does not reflect the true financial situation, your spouse may later petition the court to set aside the agreement, forcing you to have to renegotiate the entire agreement all over again.
A failure to cooperate with your spouse will extend the timeline of the divorce process and, consequently, rack up the fees for all. If you want to punish and antagonize your spouse, it is going to cost you money. Cooperation does not mean that you need to agree with everything your spouse proposes, it simply means being reasonable and working together to create the best possible outcome for you and your family.
Before starting your divorce process, prepare a “go-forward” budget. This will help you create a plan of how to divide home expenses during the divorce process, how to pay off debt during the divorce and how much you will spend on the divorce itself. A good budget will help you to not be side-swiped by the hidden expenses associated with divorce such as realtor fees, mortgage penalties, tax implications of selling assets or how spousal support will affect your net income.
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA)
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