How to Tell Your Spouse You Want a Divorce

Divorces come in all shapes and sizes. On one end of the spectrum, you have a knife fight over the custody of every fork in the cabinet. On the other end, you have two reasonable adults who actively seek compromises so they can move on with their lives.

If you reached the point where your marriage is over, you will inevitably have to go through some legal proceedings to untangle yourself from your future ex-spouse. Most clients are nervous about what they are getting into.

While it is very difficult to determine how contentious your divorce will be, I find that couples who are upfront with the fact that they want a divorce and try to engage their ex-spouse before filing paperwork are usually the ones who have less contentious cases. While uncomfortable, no one is blindsided.

The spouses who skip town, drain the bank account, and hide the kids from the other spouse are usually in for a very contentious divorce case.

So, if you reached the point where you want to leave your spouse, it would behoove you to try to sit down with him or her and tell them that you want a divorce. Take a shot and see if you can work it out. By treating your soon-to-be ex-spouse with decency and respect on the way out, you will be doing yourself in a favor when it comes time for the legal proceeding.