Are you planning to get divorced? Getting divorced is a difficult decision. To prevent this event from being too traumatic for you and your children, we advise you to prepare each step of your divorce well, especially so that the procedure does not take too long.

Make your divorce a success by following these 10 tips!

1. Dare to divorce by mutual consent

Divorce is often the subject of much disagreement, however if you try to engage in a divorce procedure by mutual consent, dialogue will take place to settle the consequences of this divorce (compensatory allowance, alimony, custody, division of assets).

Discussing does not mean letting yourself be stripped of your assets without saying anything, but often the spouses do not manage to clearly establish their demands, which makes the discussion difficult.

Thus you can prepare your divorce by putting precisely in writing your wishes concerning the consequences of the divorce. Divorce by mutual consent will allow you to discuss, to find an agreement, and a negotiated divorce is above all a more easily acceptable divorce.

2. Fix a compensatory allowance (use the AGN calculator)

The compensatory allowance has nothing to do with alimony. Alimony is for the maintenance of the children, whereas the compensatory allowance is only to compensate for the financial imbalance created by your divorce.

The compensatory allowance is the amount that a spouse owes to their ex-spouse, because of the financial disparities created by the divorce. It depends on the resources of each spouse. To easily estimate the amount of the compensatory allowance, use the AGN lawyer calculator, which will allow you to easily know how much your spouse will have to give you or how much you will have to pay.

3. Liquidate your matrimonial regime and divide the joint property

During your divorce, you must liquidate your matrimonial regime, it is to evaluate the community property (those acquired during your life together) to then proceed to the division of the property, that is to say you divide your common patrimony between you and your spouse.

What is a common property ?

It all depends on your matrimonial regime. In the regime of the legal community, the goods acquired during the marriage are common goods, as are your earnings and salaries.

On the other hand, the goods you received as inheritance before and during the marriage are never common goods, they are your own goods which will remain your property even after the divorce. You can choose to allocate certain property in kind while paying a balance to your spouse if the value of the property taken over exceeds your spouse’s rights to your assets. You can also sell the property and then divide the money from the sale between you.

If you are unable to do so, your lawyer can help you by basing himself on your liquidation statement (the liquidation statement is simply a description of the assets and liabilities of your joint estate).

4. Protecting your children does not mean excluding them from the separation

It is often difficult to tell your children that you are divorcing. However, it is important to let them know that you want to divorce but also to ask for their opinion, without of course expecting them to take a clear position.

The choice of sole custody is often advised when the child is young (less than 7 years old). However, the spouse who does not have custody of the child must be aware that they retain full parental authority over the children, and that they will have a right of accommodation and visitation.

You can also opt for shared custody by carefully working out which weeks or months of the year your child will be with one parent.

5. Index child support (use the AGN calculator)

You can estimate the amount of your child support by using the AGN Lawyer Calculator. You can index the amount of support, which will allow the amount of support to change. You can also obtain a revision of the amount of alimony after your divorce, if the amount fixed at the time of the divorce is no longer justified.

6. Think about the tax consequences of your divorce

If you divorce, you will be taxed separately for income tax, for the entire year (Example: you divorce on December 29, 2016, you will be taxed separately on your 2016 income for the entire year, so in May 2017 you will file 2 statements). The one who has custody of the child will have an additional half share but the one who pays the alimony will be able to deduct it.

Also think about the terms of payment of the compensatory allowance, if you pay it in capital over less than 12 months, you will have a tax reduction of 25% of the amount of the benefit, and the one who receives it will not be taxable. This is not the case if you pay it as an annuity over more than 12 months.

7. Try to keep the family home for the children

If you have custody of your children, try to keep the family home. When the community is divided, you can ask for the preferential allocation of the family home. In return for this allocation, you will have to pay your spouse property of equivalent value or pay them a sum of money corresponding to the value of the part of the house that you own.

For financial reasons, it is often complicated to take over the family home alone.

If you agree with your spouse, you can make a joint possession agreement on this property, you both remain the owner of the house, but you pay an occupation indemnity to your ex-spouse (corresponding to a rent). The day the children grow up, you can unilaterally divide the property, you sell the property, and you share the money from the sale.

8. Separate your professional and personal life

” Don’t you know he’s getting a divorce? “, the famous phrase that a person who is getting a divorce doesn’t want to hear at work. While it’s important to talk about the divorce with your family and friends, avoid bringing up the subject in your professional relationships. Unfortunately, divorce is often seen as a catastrophic failure, even though the saying “better alone than badly accompanied” often makes a lot of sense in the case of a separation.

9. Control the cost and time of your divorce

Divorcing has a cost, so it is important to control it and know how much you will have to pay in the end. At AGN Avocats, divorce by mutual consent is 990 euros all inclusive, so less than 500 euros per spouse.

By knowing the rates you can anticipate the cost of your divorce, therefore you can divorce without any bad surprise. By choosing the procedure of divorce by mutual consent you can divorce in 3-4 months.

10. Discuss with your lawyer

In case of divorce by mutual consent, and if you agree on the principle of divorce, you must choose a lawyer for each spouse. Your lawyers will make sure to protect the interests of both spouses.

Planning to get a divorce? Use the online procedure for divorce by mutual consent. You enter the necessary information, you edit a draft divorce agreement and a petition for divorce. An AGN network lawyer in your area will take care of your divorce, accompany you in the drafting of the divorce agreement, and transcribe your divorce on your civil status. Your divorce will cost you 990 euros all inclusive!