Pre-Game Strategy

LET'S GET ORGANIZED

Being well-prepared before you meet with your attorney will likely save you money! Whether it is checking off my pre-file checklist or coming up with a total exit strategy, I can assist you. Here’s some tips to get you started.

Gather Personal Information for Divorce

Along with your Social Security card and driver’s license, you will need to gather some other personal information before filing for dissolution of marriage in California. 

This includes:

1.   Copies of any prenuptial or post-nuptial agreements.

2.   Spouse’s full name, date of birth, and Social Security number.

3.   Addresses and dates of residency for the past five years

4.   Details about any children born during the marriage, including their full names, dates of birth, and current custody arrangements.

5.   Income information for both spouses over the past three years.

6.   Account numbers and balances for all bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, etc., belonging to either spouse.

If you have access to this kind of information online (through a banking or investment account website, for example), you can print out the relevant pages instead of gathering hard copies. Just make sure to black out any account numbers and balances.

Identify Your Personal Property for Divorce

When you’re filing for dissolution of marriage in California or any state, it is important to know that your marital property must first be identified. Starting the process early will help ensure that everything goes smoothly and you can avoid complications later.

The first step when dividing up marital property during a divorce is identifying which items belong exclusively to each spouse. This can be very easy if certain pieces were purchased before marriage or received by inheritance or gift. Once those pieces have been identified, individual values must be assigned and documented on their documents called a Marital Asset Statement.

Assigning values to personal property can be more difficult, especially if you’ve been married for a while and accumulated many items. In these cases, you will likely need to hire an appraiser to provide accurate estimates of each item separately.

I’m Here to Help You

These pre-game steps will save you money and time in the long run. I’m here to help you. Together we will go over the full checklist and get you prepared to move forward pre-filing for divorce. 

 Book your pre-game session today.