10 Common Divorce Mistakes

...and how to avoid them

  • Allowing your spouse to convince you to not hire an attorney
    If your spouse has hired a lawyer, you need to hire one quickly. If you don't, you are an amateur playing against professionals. One underhand tactic is for a spouse's attorney to offer to represent both parties to save time and money. Not only is it unethical, but it also creates a conflict of interest.

    The process is designed to be adversarial, and there is no way a lawyer can fairly represent you both. The odds are that your spouse has something to hide or something she wants, and she knows that if you hire a lawyer it will be more difficult to achieve that goal.
     
  • Using verbal abuse
    Just about everyone who gets a divorce argues. Not everyone, however, engages in continuous verbal battles in which threats and vile accusations become routine forms of communication. Being on the receiving end of this abuse is demoralizing, especially when the threats raise the possibility of physical harm to you or your children.

    You need to discuss any threats of this type with your attorney, who can advise you on how to deal with them. Furthermore, if it is you who's engaging in the verbal abuse, remember that your spouse can easily obtain an order of protection and any violation of this order can land you in jail. There is a myth that men do not endure verbal or even physical abuse from their spouses, but it is just a myth. Abuse is not gender specific.
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