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Always Speak with a St Louis Divorce Lawyer Before Filing

St Louis Divorce LawyerWith many online resources available to us, it can be more and more tempting to learn about matters on the internet instead of consulting with a professional. If you’re facing the dissolution of your marriage, you may consider pursuing the matter on your own with online forms. However, information online can never replace the in-depth knowledge and experience of a skilled St Louis Divorce Lawyer, and many people who try to handle their own cases make costly mistakes. In the long run, hiring the right divorce lawyer can often save you money.

Divorce is complicated, and unforeseen obstacles can often arise during the process. Even if you and your divorcing spouse are in complete harmony about every conceivable issue, it’s important to recognize that your divorce judgment will affect you and your children’s finances for many years to come. If your judgment is not in your best interest, you can experience unnecessary financial stress for the foreseeable future, so it is always best to retain the professional legal counsel of an experienced St. Louis Divorce Lawyer.

Your Financial Future: Taking a Closer Look

The outcome of your divorce case will affect your finances in ways that you may not comprehend at the outset. Every divorce is unique, and every divorce has its own set of unique considerations to take into account.

For instance, there are the finances that impact your children’s welfare and wellbeing, and there is the division of your marital assets, which often includes complicated financial instruments that you may be hard-pressed to understand, much less divide fairly.

The outcome of your divorce has far-reaching implications that will resonate into your future and that deserve the careful consideration of a trained legal professional.

Common Mistakes in a St Louis Divorce Case

The one divorce constant is that they are legally complicated and that they often become more complicated as the process progresses. Couples who initially try to handle their own case tend to encounter a variety of pitfalls:

  • Failing to Adequately Address Child Custody Arrangements – Couples often fail to contact a lawyer because they believe that they’re in agreement on all the important issues, including child custody arrangements. The problem is that a court requires a tremendous amount of detail about your agreements that most people fail to consider. You both naturally want what’s best for your children. Even though you are in agreement regarding what that may be at the moment, it does not guarantee that you always will be so. Protect your children’s best interests by consulting with a dedicated legal professional.

 

  • Failing to Adequately Address the Division of Marital Property – Many divorcing couples erroneously assume that their assets and debts will be split right down the middle in a divorce. The issue of what is marital property and what is nonmarital property makes things much more complicated. If there is nonmarital property, it will not be divided. Further, in the State of Missouri the marital property is divided equitably – as opposed to equally – which refers to what the court considers fair and is not necessarily the same as equal. Fairness also implies that you should be considering the type of property you receive, not just its value. How your marital assets are divided will directly affect you and your children’s financial future, and knowing how the terms of a particular agreement actually impacts that future is paramount.

 

  • Failing to Adequately Address the Tax Implications – The tax implications of divorce are often immense, and if you rush into a divorce without the right legal assistance, the issue can become lost in the shuffle – leaving you unprotected. Whether it’s the division of retirement accounts or taking deductions for your children, your tax consequences need to be taken into careful consideration before you finalize your divorce. One of the biggest missteps is failing to realize that a tax free account, like a checking account, is more valuable than a taxable retirement account that has the same balance. In order to compare the two values, you need to take the tax consequences into consideration. Don’t wait for expensive surprises down the road.

 

  • Failing to Adequately Address How Your Life Will Change – With divorce comes significant life changes that are difficult to predict and comprehend before you live through them. Suffice to say, however, that dividing your family life with your children between two households is not only more expensive but is also more time-consuming. It’s hard to plan for things that are exceedingly difficult to predict. A St. Louis divorce lawyer has the firsthand experience to help you better understand what you’ll be facing after your divorce and to help you make important decisions in the process.

If You Are Considering Divorce, You Owe It to Yourself to Consult with an Experienced St Louis Divorce Lawyer First

Learning about divorce online may be tempting, but it’s never a replacement for a divorce attorney who fully understands Missouri law. Many people fail to recognize that they don’t have the experience or the legal knowledge to effectively protect their own rights in the divorce process. There is simply too much at stake not to obtain the professional legal services of an experienced divorce lawyer.

Divorce attorney Jennifer Rench has the experience, commitment, and compassion to help guide your case toward its most positive resolution. For an initial consultation with Jennifer, please contact or call us at (314) 725-4000 today.

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