Divorce Preparation Tips

• Start keeping a diary explaining the important events and history having to do with your marriage and child rearing, if you have children, and the circumstances causing you to consider divorce.
• If you have children, write out a parenting plan that you believe would be in your children’s best interests and explain your reasoning.
• Create a summary of all the assets owned by you and your spouse (include when you acquired them).
• Create a list of all the properties that you own and all of your possessions.
• Provide rough estimates of the value of your assets (just do your best).
• Provide estimates of the amounts owed on your properties and unsecured debts.
• Make a list of your sources of income (locate and copy your tax returns for the last few years, if possible).
• Locate any written agreements of understanding between you and your spouse, including any wills or trust instruments.
• Write down physical abuse or domestic violence, if any has occurred, in your relationship with your spouse.
• Write down what is most important to you with regard to the assets in your marital estate.
• Try to project a post-divorce budget for your living expenses as a single person or a single parent.