How to Prepare for Divorce: Organizing Information & Documents

The decision to divorce, and the process thereafter, is never easy. When you and your partner choose to divorce, the best way to effectively navigate the following proceedings with as little stress as possible is by being prepared. We’ve already covered the first step in preparing for divorce in our blog post “How to Prepare for Divorce: Building Your Support Team.” In this post, we will take a closer look at the information and documents that you’ll need to gather throughout this time.

Gather Passwords & Other Personal Information

Divorce can be a long, drawn-out legal process with a lot of paperwork to fill out. There are also plenty of boundaries you will need to set so that you can safely receive communication from your divorce attorney.

You will need to gather personal information such as:

• Full legal name
• Birthdate
• Valid mailing address
• Proof of state residency
• Salary or hourly wage
• Social security number
• Login information for all online accounts

It may be appropriate to gather some of this information for your spouse, as well. Providing income information for both parties will help the judge award the deserved child support or alimony, for instance.

Gather Information About Your Children

Because divorce affects everyone in the family, it will be important to organize information about your children. However, you may not need it for all your children, depending on their legal relationship with you and your spouse as well as their age.

You will need to gather personal information for your children if they are:

• Under 18 and biologically yours and your spouse’s
• Under 18 and adopted
• Under 18 and from your past marriage
• Under 18 and from your spouse’s past marriage

This also applies to children in these specific relationships who are over 18 with a long-term disability. But what information will you need?

To ensure they are represented properly, you’ll need to provide the following information about your children:

• Full name
• Birthdate
• Contact info for their doctors, school, and/or daycare
• A description of current childcare
• Medical history
• Any amounts of child support you already receive or pay
• An accurate list of expenses

It may not be easy to acquire all this information, especially on an emotional level. Your divorce lawyers at Edgar & Dow can help you file formal motions to get the documents you need without the drama.

Identify Your Personal Property

Do you know who gets what? This is an important part of the divorce process and doing it right can help everyone in the end.

Inventory the following items:

• Houses
• Property (Land)
• Vehicles
• Machinery, like snowblowers or tractors
• Household items, like bedding or décor
• Personal items, like jewelry or sentimental pieces
• Pets, like cats or dogs, and livestock, like cows or horses

If you don’t have the receipts for all your items, it may be sufficient to get your things appraised. Your lawyer can assist in organizing this list and assessing the value of each item.

Trust Our Experienced Divorce Attorneys

At Edgar & Dow, we have been helping couples navigate divorce since 2004. With over 15 years of experience, you can trust our divorce lawyers to pursue the results you and your family deserve. To learn more about our firm and how we can serve you, contact us today at (888) 251-9618.