You’ve decided to divorce. Now what?

Once you've made the difficult decision to divorce, you want to move forward with it as soon as possible. Whether your spouse knows of your intentions or not, here are the next steps for anyone planning to divorce in Northern Virginia.

The first step is selecting a divorce lawyer. This may be harder than it sounds. A divorce lawyer will be one of your closest confidants during the divorce process. You will want to find a divorce lawyer who is not only experienced, but also available to you. Most importantly, however, you will want to hire an attorney who you can trust to look out for your best interests.

Once you have selected an attorney, you will want to schedule a meeting. The initial meeting with your attorney is an opportunity for you to get to know each other and for your attorney to explain to you how the divorce laws will affect you. It does not mean you have hired that lawyer.

The more information you bring to your initial meeting with the attorney the better. Bringing in information relating to your income, your assets and your debts is important. Important assets include:

• Real estate
• Cars and other motor vehicles
• Investment and bank accounts
• Retirement accounts
• Other valuables such as jewelry and collections

The attorney will ask you to clarify what is titled in each person's name. This is also true for debts such as:

• Credit card debts
• Mortgages
• Car notes
• Tax debts
• Student loans

Even a preliminary list of these items will be helpful to the attorney you meet. Sometimes having even the initial meeting with an attorney can help. You will have a better understanding of the ramifications of divorce and you can decide whether you would like to proceed with a divorce and with this attorney. The attorneys at HALE BALL MURPHY, PLC can also assist with other needed changes that come with divorce, including name change.