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Four Principles Leading to a Successful Divorce

By July 18, 2015June 19th, 2018Divorce, Family Law

Years of experience in the field of family law have helped me understand the key essentials of what a client needs to know when embarking upon their divorce journey. I hope you find the principles I’ve listed below of assistance as you take the next steps to change your life.

1. Perspective: This too shall pass
When a person is locked in ugly exchanges with their ex over property, parenting, or support, they can feel as if these issues and conflicts will never go away. Believe it or not, they do fade and at some point your life will settle down in some new order. Seeking proper guidance professionally and through legal assistance may help alleviate some of the initial problems that you encounter when you begin this journey. Having conversations with your ex when you are armed with proper legal knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of how to deal with these conflicts and what the issues really are that must be decided either by the parties or by the court.

2. Patience: It takes time to do it right
Getting things done in our family law court process has become a lot more efficient than it has been in the past but it still takes time to work through issues and resolve them. When it comes to property division, there’s a requirement that the parties provide full disclosure and exchanges of information between them before they can embark upon a meaningful discussion on dividing property. Child custody and parenting time issues also require careful attention and development. The division of a household will be a new experience for the children. Parents who are working in the most collaborative framework can serve as ambassadors for their children as they develop a parenting time plan that is in the children’s best interests. Sometimes it’s necessary to experiment with parenting time share models to get it right.

3. Pick your battles: Fight for the important stuff
What can really drag out in the divorce process is quibbling about issues that should be quickly resolved. The value of personal property and household items value not be a point of contention between the parties. Fighting over 15 or 20 minute differences in scheduling pick up or drop off of a child also is detrimental to the parties ability to work smoothly through elements of the case. Significant time expended on these issues is both emotionally costly and financially costly. Delays in proceeding on the case and multiple court appearances take their toll on the fair and efficient completion of a family law case.

4. Power is knowledge
Making the right decisions concerning how the divorce process operates, what your legal rights are, and where the conflict truly lies are features that can drag down the efficiency in moving through a case. One of the many benefits of having legal counsel representation is receiving the guidance of the skilled family law practitioner every step of the way as you go through the divorce process. It’s very hard to direct where you’re going if you don’t have a plan and understand what would be in your best interests legally.

Being faced with the divorce process is daunting for anyone. Simplifying the process with professional guidance and understanding one’s legal rights will take a tremendous burden off of a family law litigant. No one can ever say that a divorce is easy but this legal process can be a lot more efficient and less painful if the four principles set forth in this article are applied.

Arlene D. Kock

Author Arlene D. Kock

With over 40 years of experience in the field of family law, Arlene D. Kock appears regularly in Northern California jurisdictions. The attorney offers free initial consultations in her full service San Ramon , CA. office.

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