Divorce can be a complicated, prolonged process that can set your life’s stage for years to come. There’s a lot on the line in these marriage dissolution cases, which means you should really know what you’re getting into and what you’re doing throughout one. Winging your divorce negotiations or your litigation can put you at a very real risk of losing out on needed marital assets and facing bad outcomes pertaining to spousal support and child custody.
Be prepared for negotiations
Preparation is key to positioning yourself for success in these matters. There are several things that you can do to build your case and prepare for settlement negotiations, too. Let’s take a look at some of them.
- What do you need? To start your preparations, you need to think about what you absolutely need for your life post-divorce. This could include a residence, certain bank accounts, or a vehicle. By identifying these things, you know where you absolutely can’t give during negotiations. Just try to be realistic here.
- Identify what you want: Writing down the things you want out of your divorce can help guide both your negotiation and your litigation strategy.
- Figure out what your spouse needs: If you can pin down what your spouse needs out of the divorce, then you can gain leverage over him or her. You might hit a roadblock, of course, if you both feel like you need the same thing, but if that happens then you’ll have to get creative in your negotiation strategy to see if you can break the stalemate. That’s where the next point can be helpful.
- What does your spouse want? By figuring out what your spouse wants you can give yourself a little wiggle room in negotiations to hopefully get what you want.
- Set the right tone: Coming off as too aggressive during negotiations can put a stop to settlement talks. This can delay the process and make everything more contentious. Don’t get us wrong, there’s certainly a time to be aggressive, but you need to be strategic when doing so.
- Know when to walk away: Some divorce negotiations resolve everything with little conflict. But let your desire to wrap up your divorce give your spouse permission to push you around and take advantage of you. Before sitting down at the negotiation table it might be helpful to identify what positions will warrant walking away and taking your case to trial.
Be prepared to litigate
The vast majority of divorce cases resolve without the need for litigation. But the best way to prepare for negotiations is to prepare for trial. Only then can you know the strengths of your case and how best to present your position. So before sitting down with your spouse to try to hash out the details of your divorce, consider speaking with people who may serve as witnesses in your case and gather and analyze all relevant documents, whether they pertain to marital assets or your children’s wellbeing.
Strong representation can make a difference
To best position yourself for success, you need to take a holistic approach to your case. That’s the only way to know that you’re presenting your position in the best light possible while anticipating the other side’s counter arguments. This can be hard to do, especially when you’re unfamiliar with the law and are wrapped up in the emotions of the process. Fortunately, you don’t have to try to fight your way through this process on your own. Instead, you can secure competent assistance from an attorney who truly cares about you and your future. If you think that you could benefit from that kind of representation, then we encourage you to continue to browse our website.