Divorce is rarely an easy endeavor. It can be fraught with emotions and pain, and it can be difficult to see the road ahead. But as challenging as it may be to see hope for the future, you should recognize that there are things that you can do to make life post-divorce a little easier. Let’s look at a few of them.
- Take an aggressive approach to property division: Divorce is a major financial transaction. As such, you need to be ready to fight for your fair share of the marital estate. This means making sure that you’re keeping your separate property out of the marital estate, looping hidden assets into the estate, and articulating why your position leads to a fair distribution.
- Give yourself a break: It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of divorce. Try to give yourself some time to decompress and get some perspective on life. This can greatly reduce tension.
- Find support: It can be easy to internalize your feelings during divorce, but doing so isn’t healthy. Reach out not only to friends and family members who are there to support you, but also consider support groups and mental health professionals who may be able to assist.
- Be realistic: It’s important to be hopeful during divorce, but it’s easy to take that too far and build false hope for an unrealistic future. Be honest with yourself and recognize that whatever happens, you’re going to be okay.
- Recognize that things will get back to normal: It might be hard to see right now, but you’ll eventually settle down into a new normal. Sure, your routines might change and new people will come in and out of your life, but you will find a balance that might not seem possible right now.
- Focus on what matters: As you’re tangled in the spider web of divorce, it can be hard to see what’s most important to you. Take the time that you need to identify those things that you value most and shift your focus toward them. For a lot of people, this is going to be their children. But you might have other interests that are important to you. The critical thing to remember is that you need time for you and the things that matter to you.
- Remember that you have worth: In the throes of divorce it can be easy to feel rejected and even tossed aside. But you’re worthy of love, regardless of the circumstances that led to your marriage dissolution. As hard as it can be, don’t blame yourself for what has become of your marriage. You will find love again in the future, in whatever form that may take.
Take care in confronting your divorce legal issues
We recognize that while you’re trying to implement the tips mentioned above, the legal realities of your divorce will continue to rear its ugly head back into your life. Negotiating over retirement accounts, personal possessions, and even fighting over which holidays each parent will get to spend with the kids can be enormously stressful. But the stakes are high in these matters, so you shouldn’t let their overwhelming quality to deter you from aggressively confronting your divorce legal issues head-on.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to ease the burden here. To reduce the stress and ensure that you get the best outcome possible from your marriage dissolution, it might be wise for you to work with an experienced divorce attorney who can help set you on the path to the future you deserve.
