When preparing for divorce in New York, there a several factors to prepare proactively that will benefit you greatly as the process progresses. First and foremost, hiring an Experienced Divorce Attorney is essential in almost every situation, whether the divorce will be contested or not. Furthermore, preparing your finances and financial statements early will save you time and resources later. This means making accounting for everything in your life that has an impact on your financial situation.
Depending on the details of your situation, you may see a divorce looming on the horizon and have time to prepare yourself for what is to come. One of the best uses of this preliminary time is organizing and gathering specific information surrounding your financial situation. By handling the situation proactively, there will be less burden if or when litigation arrives and can even spare resources if the divorce can be settled through mediation. A Divorce Attorney in Westchester County, NY, can give you a place to start and guidance along the way, all while familiarizing themselves with your circumstances early on.
The first step you should take is making a detailed list of all liabilities and assets that you may have. This should be an exhaustive list and include any possible retirement plans, investment accounts, real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, and anything else applicable to your life. Any form of debt you have accrued on the liabilities front, whether student, credit, or simple unpaid bills, will fit into this category. Each list will be situation-specific, and through consultation with an attorney, specific factors your circumstances call for can be better understood.
After listing all of the assets and liabilities attached to the marriage, the next step is gathering documentation to back up or put an exact number to each item in the list. Examples of this include statements from financial institutions, receipts of payment for bills and loans, credit card statements, or any number of different pieces of documentation attached to the previously completed list.
The final consideration should be listing any future gains or expenses similarly to your assets and liabilities. This is essentially just a tally of your income compared to your expenses in a typical month. While this may seem like excessive work, it will save you time when the court system in New York introduces the requirement to submit a financial affidavit. Since you have had a Family law lawyer working with you since the beginning, the remainder of filing the financial affidavit should be simple if the proper preliminary efforts were made.
At the Law Offices of David Bliven, we are experienced in guiding clients through the divorce process in Westchester County, NY. While it all may seem confusing at first, with a diligent and caring team at your side, the path becomes much more straightforward. To discuss your unique situation in detail and decide on the most productive next steps to take, call to schedule an initial consultation as soon as possible, regardless of at what stage of divorce you find yourself.
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