Going through a divorce is generally a very stressful experience. Although it can be very liberating for some, it is a lot of work and there is a long legal process that you must go through before everything is finalized. Sadly, many people make costly mistakes while going through a divorce. Here are a couple things you need to do before you file for divorce.

1. Try to Get Out Of Joint Debt

If you have a lot of joint debt, you need to try and pay it off, if at all possible. Just like your estate, your debt will also be divided in half. If there is any debt that the two of you acquired together, you will both be responsible for paying it. In some cases your spouse will be in charge of one debt, and you will be in charge of another. The problem is that your name is on both of the debts. Thus, if your spouse is unable or unwilling to make the payments you are the one who suffers. It could severely hurt your credit score, and it could cost you a lot of money. For this reason, it is so much easier if you can try and pay off any joint consumer debt before you start the divorce process.

2. Don't Abandon Your House Or Children

Some couple are fighting so much that they don't feel like they can live together before they get the legal divorce. It is fine to separate, however before you do you should get a legal separation agreement. This is for good reason.

If you abandon your house before you are legally separated, your spouse has rights of possession. That means that they can change the locks, box up your stuff and practically do anything they want with the property until the divorce is final and you get someone to take you back onto the property.

In addition, if you leave the children, it will look badly for custody. When the judge is looking at who should get custody they need to see that you were constant and cared about your children's well being. If it looks like you left them, even for a short period of time, you might not be granted the custody you want. For this reason, you should go through the process of getting legally separated before you actually separate.

By doing these two things you can protect yourself in your divorce. Talk to places like Kimberly Granatino & Associates PC for more information.

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