Many of our blog posts are devoted to helping men and women better understand the steps they need to take so they can emerge from divorce in the best emotional and financial shape possible.
In this post, we want to take a different approach and discuss various things that spouses should AVOID while they're in the process of divorce. Individually, any one of these mistakes can derail the efforts of the best divorce team.
Make a few of them, and you could substantially reduce your chances of walking away with a satisfactory divorce settlement. That said, take these warnings to heart and proceed with caution:
Leaving a digital trail.
Forget about leaving a paper trail, these days is far too easy to leave
a digital trail. We're talking about threatening texts to your soon-to-be
ex, Tweets, emails, Facebook messages and pics and every other kind of
electronic transmission that can end up in front of the judge.
Over 90 percent of the nation's top divorce attorneys say they've seen an increase in cases that use digital evidence from smart phones, Droids and iPhones. So, whatever you do, don't leave a digital trail of evidence that can be used against you in court.
Incriminating yourself on social media.
For the most part, we're talking about Facebook. These days, daily
posts to Facebook have become people's way of life and they post damaging
things without thinking. Does social media pay much of a role in the courtroom?
You bet it does.
Online photo albums, comments, status updates and pics can all be used as evidence during a divorce to prove squandering of assets, infidelity, substance abuse and emotional instability. If you don't want a judge to see it, don't post it!
Racking up credit card debt.
Did your spouse cheat on you? Or, are you bitter for another reason? Beware
of embroiling yourself in a vindictive split. If you go on a big shopping
spree, or otherwise rack up thousands in credit card debt, or try to default
on joint accounts out of spite, remember, you're also ruining your
own credit.
It's best to work together to close joint accounts or convert them to individual accounts, rather than trying to sabotage your spouse's credit and their reputation. Otherwise, you're only going to end up hurting yourself and your kids (if you have any) in the long run.
For divorce advice in the Greater Los Angeles Area, call Claery & Hammond, LLP today!