Your Divorce is Now Final – Now What?
If you’ve just completed a divorce, you are surely feeling a combination of emotions, both positive and negative in nature. It’s quite normal to feel a mixture of sadness, grief, disappointment, and of course relief all at once – after all, an extremely difficult emotional, legal and financial struggle has just ended, and it’s time for you to move on with your life.
However, that doesn’t mean that there still aren’t things to pay attention to even post-divorce. Below are a few issues that we’ve seen develop during our years as family law attorneys in Austin. These examples are far from an exhaustive list, but they are issues that can be kept to a minimum in terms of stress if you’re paying attention.
Spousal/Child Support
If you’ve been ordered to provide spousal and/or child support, you obviously need to make sure that these payments are kept current. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be times in people’s lives when money becomes tight for one reason or another, but the last thing you should do if that happens is to simply not pay your support obligations. Failing to pay support can be a crime in certain situations, so make sure that you have enough money budgeted to keep these payments up-to-date. If you do run into an unforeseen situation that may prevent you from paying the full amount, contact us before making any decisions.
Stick to the Visitation Plan
If you and your ex-spouse had children, then the court, absent extremely extenuating circumstances, will put together a schedule of visitation for the parent who does not have primary custody. If this describes your situation, you need to make sure that nothing happens that could violate this schedule. Doing so will only invite additional problems, and your children have been through enough already with the divorce.
Not to mention, if you notice that something is wrong with your child or children when you do spend time with them, and you think that these problems have something to do with the care your ex-spouse is providing for them, do not take matters into your own hands and violate the visitation order. Contact us immediately to report the problem and you’ll avoid a situation that could turn ugly quickly.
Overall, the finalization of your divorce is a chance for you to move on with your life and to gain a fresh start. However, as you’ve seen above, there are still responsibilities that need to be met. If you have any questions about these or any other post-divorce situations, contact Slater, Kennon & Pugh Ltd.LLP today to schedule a consultation.