Our society has been shaken by the pandemic, which has affected nearly all aspects of our lives, including but not limited to financial and emotional concerns, and other daily realities.
If you are going through a divorce during the pandemic, you need to seek out an experienced divorce attorney, preferably one armed with relationships with other skilled divorce professionals, such as realtors, mortgage brokers, mental health counselors, and more.
The fundamental areas being impacted by your divorce during the COVID-19 pandemic are as follows:
- Successfully parenting and/or co-parenting while keeping yourself and your children as safe as possible;
- Managing financially day to day, especially with losses of employment, furloughs, reductions in pay, and increases in expenses from being homebound;
- Evaluating your assets and debts and determining how to split one household into two households.
Each is no small task on its own, which is why you need to seek counsel from an experienced attorney who can help you begin the process of evaluating the impacts of COVID-19 on your divorce.
With custody and parenting, the new element of a major health risk has been added to the already complex matrix of how to parent. Limiting your children’s exposure to those who could carry the virus is paramount. Temporarily cutting off play dates and sitting with friends, as well as no longer frequenting places where the virus may spread, such as bars, are all great ideas.
For parents involved in a romantic relationship with someone else, now is a good time to restrict that relationship to telephones and video conferencing for the sake of your children.
Managing day-to-day finances is most challenging during this time, and since individuals’ financial lives are so different, only a skilled divorce attorney, perhaps aided by a financial professional when necessary, can help guide your path forward.
Assets and debts are also individualized. Selling a home and purchasing a home during the pandemic sounds overwhelming, but there are highly skilled real estate brokers and mortgage brokers who specialize in assisting individuals and families going through this crisis. Minding the store with investments, deciding whether to retreat from the stock market, and many other financial considerations can all be addressed by both your divorce attorney and any professionals they bring in to assist you.
It has never been more difficult to successfully navigate through the divorce process. By acquiring knowledge of the potential impacts of COVID-19 on your divorce, and by aligning yourself with a truly skilled and experienced divorce attorney, you and your children will have the best opportunity to make a solid path forward.