Divorce preplanning is something that we do here at Lewis & Matthews. It is a specific part of my practice. I think it’s one of the wisest things that you can do when you are contemplating divorce, but not yet ready to file for divorce. I think that people oftentimes have knee-jerk reactions in filing for divorce. They file, they move forward, they’re angry, they’re upset and oftentimes make choices that aren’t necessarily wise long-term for themselves or for children, if there are children involved, because they’re reacting to a situation.
I always recommend that before you decide to move forward with divorce, you come in for a strategy and divorce pre-planning session. We look at what the potential breakdowns can be, what the divorce would look like, how it will affect the children, and how you might forward the process with the children. Depending on the circumstances, we may have a 3-day plan on what you’re going to do leading up to filing. You know, there might be specific actions you’re going to take leading up to filing for divorce, especially if there are potential safety issues for you or the children.
Divorce preplanning can be long term preplanning, or it can be that plus really the day of or the few days around when the divorce is actually filed. And how you inform the other party, how you begin the process can really lead the way of how the entire divorce is going to go and how you’re going to co-parent afterwards. You can cause an escalating divorce at the beginning with knee-jerk reactions or defensive postures that can effect it for years and years and years and years. Being wise about how you begin a divorce is the smartest thing you can possibly do. I’m a very large advocate for divorce preplanning. It only costs a few hundred dollars to do it. It is totally worth it. I advise it for most people, most people that have questions about how it’s going to go.