What you can do while you wait to apply for divorce
Before you can apply to the Court for a divorce order, you and your partner must have been separated for 12 months. This, however, does not mean that you must simply sit around and wait out the 12-month period before you can get the separation proceedings started.
Here are a couple of things that you can think about in the interim:
- How are you going to distribute your marital property?
You do not need to wait 12 months before you can start property settlement proceedings. If you and your partner are able to agree on how to fairly split your joint assets and liabilities, you will be saving yourself a lot of time and money.
- Financials
To assist with your property distribution, you can also start to compile your financial records such as payslips, bank statements, superannuation records and any tax documentation. This will streamline the process of preparing your Financial Statement for the Court and help to ensure that any proposed distribution of assets is fair and equitable.
- Co-parenting arrangements
If you have a child/children, you may also want to think about your current co-parenting arrangements and how, if at all, you want these to change down the track. While the interests of the child/children should be paramount in your decision making, it is important that you discuss things such as who the child/children will spend time with on special holidays and how you will make important decisions, such as those regarding your child/children’s schooling and/or medical issues.
- Estate planning
You may also want to take this time to update your important legal documents such as your Will, Power of Attorney and Advanced Care Directive, to ensure that they best reflect your current wishes should anything happen to you.
Our experienced team of family lawyers can help ensure that the separation process is as pain-free as possible, during an already challenging time. If you and your spouse have separated and you are ready to talk to someone about commencing the formal separation process, please do not hesitate to call our office on (08) 8410 9294 or contact us via this form