Divorce - 5 Common Mistakes Made During Divorce

You are at the point where you know that divorce is the right decision and you are ready to move forward in that direction.  For the past several weeks, you have been on an emotional roller coaster.  At this point in time, you are mentally fatigued.  In this typical divorce scenario, a lot of innocent, but naive people begin to slide down the slippery slope of poor decision making.  Fearing that the madness will never end, and wishing beyond all reason that the madness would 'just end', they begin to make very rash, very poor decisions.  If you are in this situation, then let me help you avoid the slippery slope by informing you about 5 Common Mistakes Made During Divorce.  If you are aware of these 5 Common Mistakes ahead of time, they are relatively easy to avoid:
Mistake #1 - Failing To Respond To Divorce Paperwork.  A lot of spouses do not immediately reply when served with divorce paperwork.  No replying is the wrong move.  Regardless of whether you and your spouse are seriously discussing the possibility of reconciling, your failure to respond to divorce paperwork will give your spouse a huge advantage in the court room.  Ask yourself, what will happen if I do not respond to this paperwork and me and my spouse's efforts to reconcile are unsuccessful?  Please take my advice, as soon as you are served with divorce paperwork, review it, consult with a divorce lawyer, and begin thinking about how you want to respond.
Mistake #2 - Signing An Agreed Divorce Decree That Heavily Favors Your Spouse. Do not sign an Agreed Divorce Decree unless you are 100% in agreement with the terms contained in it.  If you do not 100% agree with the terms contained in it, stand your ground and demand that your spouse continue to negotiate until a mutually agreeable settlement reached.
Mistake #3 - Bad Legal Advice.  If you really have no idea what to do, hire an experienced divorce lawyer.  Once you have been served with the divorce paperwork, do not take action unless you are 100% certain that it is the right action.  Taking an action that you are unsure of could give your spouse a huge advantage in the court room and could end up costing you a lot of money.  To sum it all up, trust your commonsense and when in doubt, consult with a divorce lawyer.
Mistake #4 - Give In Too Easily.  Mistakes numbers two and four go hand and hand. Rest assure, during the divorce process you will get angry and frustrated and will wish for all of the madness to end immediately, but do not give up and just as important, do not give in.  Even when it seems that the judge clearly favors your spouse on each one of the important issues and even when it seems that you have zero chance of be granted custody of your children, press on.  Continue to be level headed and keep moving forward...you may be surprised by the outcome.
Mistake #5 - Not Follow Through With The Terms Of The Agreement.  Again, if you do not like the terms contained in the divorce decree, do not sign it.  Once you sign the divorce decree, it becomes a court order and there is no turning back...you have to obey the terms of the court order or else face serious penalty.  Before you sign the divorce decree, carefully read each of its terms and then step back and ask yourself 'Is this really what I want to do?'  If your answer is yes, then by all means go ahead and place your signature on the dotted line.  But if your answer is no, stand your ground and demand that your spouse continue to negotiate until a mutually favorable settlement is reached.