Divorce is hard; there’s just no way around it. However, there is one thing that you can do to make it better: enlist the help of a divorce attorney. Now, we know that it’s a decision that many hesitate to make. However, there are many good reasons that you could use a divorce attorney on your side.
Certain Factors Make It Complicated
There are some things that make a divorce much more than just a legal agreement to dissolve the marriage union. If you have shared assets or responsibilities, it’s important to draw legal boundaries that will define each party’s separate claims. For example…
- Child custody: Often, the most heated part of divorce proceedings revolve around custody. Both of you want to be included in your children’s lives, but with your living situation changed, you must often sacrifice some of the time that you want. A lawyer can help you stand your ground and use legal protections to help you get the custody rights that you deserve.
- Shared assets: This includes property, but it can also include some things that seem less tangible, such as retirement savings, investment accounts, life insurance, etc. These financial entanglements can be difficult to sort out and determine how to divide.
- Alimony and child support: Alimony is the term used to refer to financial support of a former spouse. This is a method of compensating for the sacrifices that one spouse has made in order to support the career of the other. Child support is also necessary to ensure that both parties are responsible for the financial support of a child. Often, it’s hard for us to know what to expect from these support payments unless we have experience in the area. A lawyer can help you determine what’s fair.
Avoid Mistakes and Make It Go Faster
If things are amicable between you and your ex, it might seem easiest to go the DIY route. And while that has worked in the past for some people, it’s almost always more complicated than people think. In our experience, once a couple has made the decision to divorce, more than anything, they just want to get it done and move on with their lives. However, when you’re handling things yourself, it’s easy to make mistakes that drag out the proceedings longer than you’d like.
Reduce Stress and Conflict
Many people avoid hiring a divorce attorney specifically because they don’t want to escalate the situation and create more conflict than what’s already there. However, most of the time you’ll find that hiring an attorney to help reduces conflict instead. Having an experienced professional in the proceedings helps keep meetings on track and curtails negative conflict that doesn’t actually help either party achieve their goals.
Here at Rulon T. Burton’s practice, we understand how sensitive divorce proceedings can be. We understand the stress and sorrow of this time, and we commit ourselves to helping you weather the transition as best we can. Give us a call today at 801-305-3702.