It’s a given that the entire divorce proceeding causes so much anxiety and emotional stress. Lawyers who are used to seeing people under these circumstances all agree that being well-prepared can be a tremendous help.

Open mind, frankness, honesty

Lawyers agree that the more willing you’re to compromise, the greater it can help them get a fair resolution. The more prepared you are (honest, accurate, frank) the more your lawyer can take care of the issues.

Acting efficiently will also reduce your legal expenses, reduce the time spent with your lawyer and lower stress on yourself. From the legal professionals themselves, here are a few guidelines you need to use in preparing for your divorce.

Questions

Do a list of your detailed questions to your lawyer. Lawyers bill in units of four, six, ten, or fifteen minutes. Usually, a minimum period of time is charged even if your time along with your lawyer is less.

Asking several questions in one call enables your lawyer to operate better and saves you attorney’s fees (in numerous calls).

Information

Even in your very first meeting, it can be profitable to supply your lawyer with a checklist of needed information.

Top of the list would be the basic data which includes your names, home and work addresses (and numbers), places and dates of births of children (if any), Social Security numbers, health information as well as other important info.

Next will be the relevant facts about your marriage, place and date, facts about previous marriages (if any) and information on them, such as pre-nuptial agreements, etc.

In case you have children tell your lawyer your exact position on issues such as custody and access. Include, too, any and all conversations with your spouse on these issues (if there were).

Be honest in telling your lawyer if there are any criminal records of either you or your spouse, any spousal abuse, and whether it had been reported or not.

Tell your lawyer details of your debts and assets, supplying copies of papers on tax statements, mortgages, and others. Tell your lawyer, too, if you have pending lawsuits, bankruptcy proceedings, etc.

Expenses

Get an explanation on how legal expenses are calculated, your lawyer’s billing and collection policies (or the ones from his firm), the rates, retainer figures, along with other extraneous expenses.

Be frank to ask ballpark figures of estimated costs.

Good client

It will work in your favor if you’re able to do all of the above. It is not easy to do every one of them, given the demanding conditions.

However, doing your very best in getting yourself ready and your lawyer for your divorce procedures is already winning half the battle.

Your friends may already know you and your spouse are having problems, but the news that you are getting a divorce is probably still going to be a shock to them. If they have known you for a long time, and always as part of this particular couple, they are going to be strangely effected in ways that don’t make a lot of sense to you. Your loss is their loss too. If you spent a lot of time together as couples, that is obviously going to change. For some people, this is really hard, as they have grown to love you both together, and they don’t know what to do otherwise.

The thing that you may not realize is that friends feel torn when someone they know is getting a divorce. They may love both of you, but in the end they feel they are going to have to choose who they want to remain friends with the most. If you truly want them to stay friends with you and your spouse, try not to drag all of your dirty laundry out in front of them. This will make them so uncomfortable that they won’t want to be around either of you. It is always good to have someone to talk to, but choose someone that was your friend more than a friend of both of you.

Some couples having a difficult breakup fall into the trap of trying to win the friends. This means they take every opportunity to trash the other in front of the friends. No matter how close you think you are to someone, you are going to make them uncomfortable. Couples often do more than hang out, which means they are involved in the same activities and clubs. Everyone ends up feeling uncomfortable when those getting a divorce drag them into it and they end up wanting out completely if things go to far.

There is another side effect of getting a divorce that you may not consider. When you get divorces, those around you start questioning their own relationships. It happens quite naturally. Some couples get closer and some end up divorcing right along with you. If your friends start doing this, remind them that you are getting a divorce for your own reasons, and that though they may suddenly see problems they have ignored in their own relationships, it does not mean they have to call it quits. Instead, encourage them to take this time to rebuild and fix theirs so they are happier in the long run.

One of the most painful situations in a marriage is when one member of the couple want a divorce and the other does not. Of course, it complicates things even more if there are kids involved.

If you are saying, “My wife wants a divorce and I have kids – what should I do?,” here are 5 tips:

1. Decide if it is worth it to you to stay together:

Yes, divorce itself is painful and expensive, and it is probably something you very much do not want to put yourself or your kids through right now. But, putting all of that aside for a moment, ask yourself this (and answer honestly): Are you and your wife really meant to stay together? Would your lives be significantly better off if stayed together? If the answer to these questions is “no” – consider swallowing the bitter pill of divorce and move on.

2. Look deep down and decide if you still love your wife:

Do you still love your wife? Do you respect her? And, how would she answer these questions about you? Again, it is very important to be honest with yourself here! If you think you do both still love and respect each other, your marriage is worth saving.

3. Consider how the marriage is affecting your kids:

Given the way your marriage has been going in the months and years before the recent talk of divorce, would you say your kids would be better off with you and your wife staying married – or could your being permanently apart actually benefit your kids more overall?

4. Have you cheated or been abusive?

If you have committed more than one infidelity or if you have abused your wife verbally or physically, you should rethink staying together with her.

5. To save your marriage, do you have an action plan?

If, after doing all of the soul-searching recommended above, you still believe that you and your wife should stay together, it is time for you to put an action plan into place to save your marriage.

Follow these 5 tips as you decide how to move forward at this critical time in the lives of yourself, your wife and your kids.

It is the legal separation of two spouses who wish to bring an end to their vows (known as pheras), for all effects and purposes. The procedure to get a divorce in India is quite unlike that exercised in western countries like the Unites States and Sweden. There is only one set of laws that are implemented and followed national wide by all tiers of courts.

In earlier days, regardless of whether there existed a radical divide between spouses, it was expected (by elders and society) alike that they would resolve the matter amicably.

Since India continues to be a largely male-dominated society, it still is always the women who happened to be the ones making comprises. This has in the past resulted in many gross injustices committed against Indian women. From the traditions of dowry and satti, they have been abused and made to subject themselves to unbearable post-marital conditions for what was branded as the “welfare of the family”. Even to this day, they are at times forced to sit at home and manage the household.

But some of that is changing with time and a widening mindset. As we see advancements in the fields of development, education and human rights, it is the metros and urban regions that seem to be just beginning to understand the need for Indians to adopt divorcees as a part of society. Urban Indian couples facing problems now do not think about the societal consequences, rather they move ahead and begin filing for divorce. It will take time, but the country is steadily understanding the place of women and the importance of provisions like divorce in the legal system of India.

“You don’t ever go into a marriage looking to get divorced,”Tiger Woods said Wednesday, facing reporters for the first time since his marriage ended in a Panama City courtroom earlier this week.

But does he still love Elin Nordegren? The iconic golfer wouldn’t go there.

“I wish her the best in everything,” Woods said. “You know, it’s a sad time in our lives. And we’re looking forward to [rebuilding] our lives and how we can help our kids the best way we possibly can. And that’s the most important thing.”