Divorcing? Tell Your Spouse and Discuss Your Property

When you decide that you want to get a divorce, one of the first hurdles is telling your spouse. What you need to remember is that once you ask them to divorce, that will be the beginning of the end of your marriage. It may cause a conflict, so you should gather information ahead of time.

Gather up information about your retirement, pension and other financial holdings. In Michigan, the courts follow an equitable distribution rule. This means that most courts will attempt to divide your property and assets in a fair way, not necessarily an equal way.

Talking to your spouse about divorce

Once you have your paperwork in order, it’s time to approach your spouse. It’s a good idea to approach them about the divorce during a time when they do have time to sit down and listen to what you have to say. Waiting until your spouse is in a good mood or until they’ve rested after work is also wise because discussing something upsetting when someone is tired or hungry is more likely to result in conflict.

When you bring up your divorce, discuss your property division concerns. Let your spouse know that this is an equitable distribution state and express how you’d like to divide your property. Your spouse may not want to talk about this right now and could need a few days to process that you want a divorce. That’s reasonable, but they should also be given some information that you want to discuss in the future, such as how to divide your home or properties as well as other holdings.

What do you do after you tell your spouse about wanting to divorce?

If you’ve already filed the divorce petition, you can serve the paperwork to your spouse at that time. This will start the process, so that you can begin working toward a resolution. You should give your spouse your attorney’s information. You can also ask if they are willing to negotiate and work together or if they would not like to try alternatives to litigation. That way, you’ll be able to prepare for how the divorce could proceed.