Although finding a divorce attorney is very important, it is not the first thing that you want to jump in to.  Locating the right attorney can take some time and research on your part.  It is an extremely important decision that most be thought through on so many different levels.  But while you are looking for that “perfect” divorce attorney, there are some steps that you can take now that will help out your case in the very near future.

1) Get yourself a P.O. Box.  You will soon be receiving letters and correspondence about your divorce that you do not want to fall into your wife’s hands.  This is not being sneaky… it is being smart!

2) Immediately close any joint accounts that you and your wife opened while you were married.  This includes saving accounts, checking accounts, credit cards, etc.  There is nothing keeping your wife from going in an clearing out a savings account.  And wouldn’t it be nice to find out later on that she used that money to hire the best divorce attorney in town.

3) Gather up any business and financial records and store them in a safe place (ie safe deposit box).  You do not want to make things easier on your wife and her divorce attorney by virtually handing over all your financial information.  This could easily be used against you when they try to come up with figures pertaining to alimony and, if necessary, child support.

4) If you have kids, be sure to regularly assure them that you are not “divorcing” them too, and they are in no way responsible for what is happening between you and their mother.  When kids don’t quite understand what is going on, they tend to draw their own conclusions, and in many cases will blame themselves for the divorce.  That’s why explaining the situation to them everyday is so important!

5) Try and reduce your standard of living as much as possible.  This includes any unnecessary spending and large purchases.  You do not want to give off the impression that your finances are in great shape (even if they actually are), because this could lead to the judge ordering you to provide higher maitenance/alimony payments to your soon-to-be ex.

These are the first 5 steps that you should take, but remember in the meantime you should be looking out for a good divorce attorney.  I am sure that there are other steps you can take and I will be adding more in the posts to come.  But if you have anything you want to add, don’t forget to share it so others can learn from your experiences as well.