Preparing for a Breakup: Initial Steps to Take

The process of preparing for a breakup is so important, but many details are often overlooked due to the overwhelming emotion and sense of urgency. This is not the time to do things quickly or without careful thought. Some steps to take to make things go more smoothly include:

• Stop engaging in arguments. There is no benefit to them, and you are wasting your energy while risking escalation to the point of police or court involvement. This is a good time to say, “Ok, I hear what you are saying.” And walk away. Your partner is not going to be persuaded by what you say, and you are giving a road map of what matters to you to them to use in negotiations. Less conversation is more.

• Set up a confidential email address and add a new passcode to your devices. Your communications with your attorney are confidential, and if others can see them, you risk the loss of that privilege. Also, kids or other family members may accidentally see something they should not see.

• Collect all the most recent banking, life insurance, mortgage, credit card, investment, and retirement statements and tax returns by retrieving them online or from your computer or paper files. Also, create a list of what you did not find. Find your marriage certificate and run your credit report – but NOT your spouse’s report, and locate estate planning documents for you, your partner, and anyone from whom you or your partner have inherited money, assets, or gifts. Verify health insurance coverage and costs and the cost of COBRA from your employer if you provide insurance for the family.

• Start a journal to process thoughts, identify goals, and list your reasons for staying and going. Make note of questions for your therapist and attorney. Who will be your support from your friends and family? What do you want to achieve in the next chapter?

For more information, please contact:

Wakeman Law Group, PC

741 S. McHenry Ave., Suite A

Crystal Lake, IL 60014

Ph: 815-893-6800

wakemanlaw.net