Divorce is a painful process. It may also be difficult in legal terms. A highly qualified lawyer certainly eases that burden, though. One of the first steps for moving on involves choosing the right legal professional to represent you and your interests.
Divorce is also tough from a financial perspective. According to the Family Code, you need to make a complete and accurate disclosure of your financial situation. The ‘schedule of assets and debts’ is not something most couples are happy to discuss, but they have to face it at some point.
This schedule is needed for three major reasons
• It facilitates a fair and clear-cut resolution for the division of property.
• Both sides are able to understand and realize the details of the debts and assets involved.
• It ensures that the settlement is done accurately.
Rule of Three
Many couples find this disclosure difficult to fulfill. It means going through stacks of paper or loads of online statements. The Law Offices of Ian S. Mednick says that it can be overwhelming, but it is doable, if you follow the rule of three. Make a list of three things to do on specific issues such as property, liquid assets and liabilities. Tick as you move forward and you will be done soon.
• For property, the three things could be – obtain a copy of the deed of all properties, print the current mortgage statement, and finally go online to ascertain the current market value of this property.
• For your liquid assets like cash, deposits, and stocks, do the same and you can have the details sooner than you thought possible. Go through the bills, loan dues and outstanding to get the list of liabilities.
• List all this down to get the final schedule. Have your house, other properties, cars, bank details, shares, etc., under assets. Then your loan dues, mortgage, and other unpaid bills can be under liabilities. If the list is long, divide them logically and go through the list until you are done.
So you can see that if you divide your tasks into groups of three, and take a break only after you finish these three listed down, you can finish the task more quickly and efficiently. Once you realize how fast you are moving, then this will serve as an inspiration to make more progress.