The decision that leads to the initiation of divorce proceedings by either or both parties is often very stressful and taxing, and your divorce lawyer will want to ensure that proceedings are as simple and as uncomplicated as possible. There are a number of reasons why you must be completely honest with your divorce lawyer in order to help with this process.
What is best for you
Giving all of the facts to your divorce lawyer right from the start will enable them to decide the best course of action for you. Your well meaning friends, family members and work colleagues may offer you advice on what they did or what they would do if they were in your situation, but an impartial, highly qualified and specialised divorce lawyer can swiftly determine what will be the best way of dealing with your personal situation in order to gain the best outcome for you/your family.
Divorce and family law is a complex field, which is why you want to choose an experienced divorce lawyer rather than a general practitioner in these circumstances. Giving the full details from the start will also enable a lawyer to state whether they are the right person to deal with your case.
Options
Following on from this first point, is that there may be a number of options from which you may be able to choose when proceeding with your divorce, that you may be unaware of. There may be more straightforward approaches that your divorce lawyer would recommend based on the information they have gathered about your case, which may be less taxing on you and your children, (if applicable).
Time is Money
Yes, your divorce will cost money, and you need to get your facts straight with your divorce lawyer from the first day so that you don’t waste your valuable money over petty issues or mistakes with details that were unnecessary. When meeting with a potential lawyer, be honest about your financial situation, for example, if you have little money in your name as your spouse was the sole breadwinner, as there may be ways in which your divorce lawyer can assist during the process to keep the billing process manageable for you.
Lying doesn’t help
When you are desperate to achieve a particular outcome in your divorce, be it financial, property-led or associated to your child/ren, you may be tempted to embellish the truth or leave out relevant information if you feel it will make your case stronger. This, however will not work in the long run as you are required to state that the information you have given is the truth, and when this comes up against questioning from your ex partner’s divorce lawyer, you may find that your case becomes a lot more complicated, and intentional lies are punishable.
Making things simpler
Divorce proceedings are far less stressful to you when you know that there are no surprises coming your way because you have failed to disclose information that your ex partner will be telling their lawyer. Remember, your lawyer is on your side and wants to help you as much as they can.
Essentially, being honest with your divorce lawyer will allow them to give you the best advice and representation legally, based on your circumstances. This can lead to a smoother and swifter settlement that should be less personally stressful for all concerned.