The better the preparation beforehand the better outcome you can have for yourself and your family.
The year 2022 has just started. The last year has been difficult for us in one or another way. Speaking of a recurring trend, the Christmas season appears to be the peak time for divorcing, with January being the month of divorce.
So, what makes the year ending a peak time for a divorce? Several factors have a role in this coincidence, including the following:
- The end of the year is a wonderful time to put under the current financial problems.
- Some couples are delighted or terrified to spend their last time together with their families.
- People begin their new lives following divorce in January, which is termed a “New Beginning.”
Many people who have already decided to divorce in the coming year schedule an appointment with their divorce attorney before the new year begins. It helps to book a lawyer at a low cost. Secondly, preparation prior to the meeting gives you more clarity about the case you are going to file.
Tips on preparing for your first virtual conference with a divorce lawyer
We’ve compiled a list of tips to consider before meeting with your divorce lawyer for the first time.
Keep a diary with all of the relevant information.
When you’re on the verge of looking for support and custody, it is preferable to know as much information as possible about your spouse’s conduct. A stream of events, patterns, and habits might help your lawyer better comprehend your case. It is recommended to inform the lawyer about the events that happened in the past.
It will also assist the lawyer in gaining a better understanding of the situation. Since you’ve decided to file for divorce, it’s a good idea to keep track of the events that led to your decision. Aside from that, you’ll also tell the lawyer who the child’s former caretaker was.
Financial records
When you file a case through a legal way, the lawyer asks for necessary information from you to get a better understanding of the overall case. This information contains your tax return, total income, and spending over the course of a year, as well as legal information. This is the very least the lawyer could ask for in order to create a divorce case in your child’s best interests. You must first acquire and arrange the information. Having your own accountant makes the process much simpler. He can give you information about your current financial position. It contains information on your savings, spending, and prior and current tax returns.
Evidence of any misconduct
If you’re talking about spousal misconduct, you’ll need to gather evidence to back it up. The possible evidence that you can gather and that proves to be misconduct are medical records, witness statements, or any criminal procedure that happened previously. Besides that, the other misconduct can be substance addiction, financial irregularities, abandonment. Always keep supporting evidence to prove the misconduct.
Material Assets owned by you
If you or your spouse owns or shares important assets, you must provide information about them. Besides that, any assets that are separately owned by you and your spouse must be clearly mentioned in the legal document.
Separate properties/assets should be identified and properly considered. Assets hold a significant position to strengthen your case.
The number of assets owned by parents, either individually or collectively, will help in taking a firm decision that will be the best fit for the child’s well-being.
Medical Records
Illinois Law states that in the situation where the child or spouse is suffering from any medical condition. The custody claim will be supported by the medical record.
Contributions of the Homemaker
The shares in material assets are determined by the contributions of each of the spouses participating at home. When one partner works full-time to run the household while the other helps to care for the home and children, you must keep track of their contributions. Both parents’ contributions can be used to determine how much each parent is interested in the child’s well-being, either monetarily or in terms of mental development. In order to build a strong case, the contribution of the dependent spouse is usually prioritized.
Witness statement
If there has been any kind of misconduct in your relationship. Inform your lawyer right away. You are facing any misbehavior, whether it occurred before bringing the case or now, for unclear reasons. It is necessary for you to keep a record of it. If any of your family members or acquaintances observed it you should consider documenting the misconduct. It can be a written or audiovisual document. It will help in informing the lawyer about what occurred on a specific day. Prior to telling the lawyer, it is essential that you keep a record.
After collecting the above-mentioned information, you should make the data copies on a disk as well. The data should be sent to your lawyer on a disk. You will not require a detailed first conference once you have already provided the necessary information. You will only be contacted by the lawyer if he needs to ask further questions. You need to respond to those questions.
Statement of a witness
The witness’s statement can be quite useful in strengthening your case. When you’re in a state of confusion and anxiety, you’re prone to overlooking details and suppressing certain feelings. Your family and friends are better witnesses to how you are being treated.
They can provide a clear and reasonable assessment of any wrongdoing that has occurred.
When one of your family or friends addressed the mistreatment, you’ve received. Consider documenting or writing it down. They are more perceptive, and their statement will be favorable to your case. It is preferable to the law and the court that you better document this ambiguous circumstance of misbehavior or abuse. It might be a written document or a video recording. So, when it comes to referring a case to a lawyer, you may just send it to them. It will save both parties a lot of time. Because if a lawyer starts inspecting, it will not only be expensive but also time-consuming.
Divorce is a transitional period that can have a significant impact on your life. Preparation is the key to a successful outcome for your family and yourself.