4 Important Tips About Divorce

Are you facing a divorce and need experienced advice and representation? Check out these 4 important tips, then give our office a call.

4 Important Tips About Divorce1. Most Important Issues in Your Case

  • In an initial divorce consultation, the two most important issues are children and money.
  • The client wants to know who’s going to have custody of the children, where they will live, how they will be supported, and who will pay for their health insurance.
  • Other important issues – such as the house, vehicles and retirement accounts – involve property and money.
  • Debts, including credit card debt, are also included among property issues.

2. Needing a Prenuptial Agreement Prior to Marriage

  • Decisions about whether or not to have a prenuptial agreement is a personal preference.
  • The couple would do best to agree on what they want to happen in the event their marriage does not work out before they marry.
  • If both parties enter into an agreement freely, after full financial disclosure, having the prenuptial in place is preferable to not doing so.

3. Separation Agreements

  • A separation agreement is a contract between a husband and wife which sets forth how they intend to deal with the important issues of their marriage.
  • The parties have created a signed agreement that specifies who will have custody, outlines the access schedule, lists how child support and other expenses will be handled, and describes what will happen with the house, any retirement accounts, and the vehicles.
  • They have a written contract, whether it’s 10 pages long – or 20, 30, 40 pages or more – signed by both of the parties.
  • The signed agreement, setting forth each party’s rights and responsibilities, is  filed in the county clerk’s office.

4. How to Serve Your Spouse with Divorce Papers

  • The first step in the divorce process is to file the summons in the county clerk’s office and have the other party served with divorce papers.
  • The filing party cannot simply give the summons to the other party. It must be handed to them by a process server or other third person.
  • Once the summons is filed in the clerk’s office, our process server serves the other party –either at home or at work.
  • We encourage our client to forewarn their spouse that the summons is coming and choose the best time and place.

Are you facing a divorce and need experienced advice and representation? Check out these 4 important tips, then contact dedicated Rochester Divorce Attorney Michael Ranzenhofer.