Asking for a divorce is likely to be one of the most difficult things you ever have to do. If you find yourself in this position, you should consider the many steps you can take to ease your stress.
There’s no way of knowing what will happen when you sit down to talk about divorce with your spouse. Even if the both of you are ready to move on, it doesn’t mean the conversation will go smoothly.
Here are some things you can do to ask for a divorce without adding more stress to your life:
- Choose an appropriate time and place for the conversation: A conversation like this should occur in a private place with plenty of time to talk through things. If you’re concerned about your safety, choose a public place or call your spouse on the phone.
- Take notes: It sounds silly, but having an idea of what you want to say will help you move through the conversation. Rather than hope for the best, prepare for anything that could happen after you ask for a divorce.
- Don’t change your mind: If you ask for a divorce and then go back on it, your spouse won’t take you seriously in the future. You’ve thought things through, and if you know divorce is the right answer you should stand your ground.
- Be ready to deal with any type of reaction: It’s possible your spouse will start to cry. It’s possible they’ll blame everything on you. It’s even possible they’ll become angry and violent. You don’t know what’ll happen, so brace yourself for every possible reaction.
- Leave the details for another time: You shouldn’t ask for a divorce and then immediately begin to discuss details such as who will keep the family home and where your children will live. Cool off and then deal with these details in mediation or litigation.
The divorce process will bring stress to your life. While there’s no way to completely avoid this, these tips will help you during the initial conversation.
Once this is out of the way, you’ll feel better as you can turn your attention to protecting your legal rights during the divorce process.