When should you seek advice if considering a divorce? The short and simple answer is: as soon as possible.
I appreciate that sometimes it is not possible to get advice early on, namely when your partner suddenly out of the blue tells you they are leaving. However, in many cases, either you are unhappy in your relationship or sense something is wrong and that is the time to seek legal advice. You may be about to make one of the most important decisions in your life and need to understand the options and possible outcomes before you do so.
Why should you seek legal advice for your divorce as early as possible?
You should take expert legal advice early so that when making the critical choice about your relationship, you have as much background knowledge as possible before doing so.
Separating is not always an easy decision; you are emotionally involved and possibly having a hard time dealing with the prospect, so you will not necessarily be at your best for making fundamental choices about your future.
The “what if” meeting
Our “what if” meeting (i.e. what are the consequences if I want to separate?) covers:
- Practical steps before telling your partner;
- Best ways to tell your partner and children; as well as,
- The actual processes for divorce, financial and children disputes.
I would also discuss all the possible options for sorting things out without going to Court, like mediation. Then there is an opportunity to look at possible outcomes and likely costs.
Finally, from the client perspective, this is a good opportunity to have a discussion with a lawyer who could help you through one of the most challenging periods of your life. You can decide whether this person is the one to help you or not. It is always your choice.
Next steps
I encourage clients after such a meeting to always go away and think carefully about what we have talked about before deciding whether to proceed, and if so, how to proceed.
It is simply a situation of “forewarned is forearmed” for what can be a tricky period.
Sometimes clients come back the next day, sometimes months later and some not at all, but many have told me that the initial discussion turned out to be time and money well spent. That it put a horrible situation into perspective.
I would always encourage people to have such a meeting, even if you don’t proceed immediately or at all, to a divorce.
You can find out more about our divorce services here.