Holly Davis, an Austin divorce attorney at Kirker Davis LLP, has the following tips for wives who are considering going through the difficult process of divorcing their spouse.
- Have a backup plan.
- Divorce means a change of plans. Just because your 10-year plan is taking a hard right turn doesn’t mean that you can’t regain control and point yourself in the right direction. Have a backup plan to your current life—a plan that provides income for yourself and a schedule that makes sense for you. Love homes? Consider real estate. Do you love children? Consider getting your teacher’s certificate or substitute teaching. Love handling finances? Go back to school and get your degree or MBA. One thing isn’t an option for your future: continuing to rely on someone else for your money and your future wellbeing.
- Educate Yourself
- While your husband may have had a head start in considering divorce, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a seat at the table for conversations about the rest of your life. You’re going to have to educate yourself on a few topics. Don’t be overwhelmed; you can do it. Create a monthly budget by simply listing how much things cost you a month. Whether you write it on a notepad or put it in your iPhone notes, just start listing it out. Don’t know how to read your husband’s retirement statements? Pick out the phrase you don’t recognize, google it, and write it down. Not sure how stocks work? Hit the Internet—there are so many instructional websites, videos, and tutorials that can help. Be curious, Google frequently, and start having an opinion on issues you would normally not have been involved or cared about.
- Set your goals
- You know where you’ve been. You know where you are right now. But do you know where you want to go? While this might not have been what you wanted out of your life, start creating your new future right now. If you were to pick what your life could be like for the next five years, what’s that look like? Is it important for you to be at the bus stop when the children get home from school? Have you always wanted to be a lawyer? Even if it doesn’t seem possible to you now, allow yourself to pick a goal. From there, you can draw a line from where you are to where you want to be to see what you need to do right now to make that dream a reality. Take those goals into mediation with your attorney so that your divorce settlement can be tailored to that goal.
- Prioritize Your Goals
- You want a lot of things: revenge, the art collection, a retirement account, the house, his tool set (his favorite). But your dollars will stretch further if you prioritize the top three goals for your legal case, and put the rest on your wish list. You might get your wish list tool set, but only after your attorney has secured for you the retirement account and the house.
If you are considering separating from your husband, contact the Austin divorce attorneys at [firm-name] to [phone-number] learn more about what your options are and how to begin the process.
