What To Do When Your Spouse Asks For A Divorce
Whether you’re expecting it or not, if your spouse asks for a divorce, it can hit you like a ton of bricks. When you marry, the intention is that it is for the rest of your life, and when that plan changes, it can cause a lot of heartbreak and pain. Whilst you’re processing your partner’s thoughts about the marriage, it’s important to handle your own emotions in a healthy way too. Sarnacki Law Firm in Grand Rapids is well-experienced in providing assistance and care to those currently experiencing this situation, so we’ve put together some top tips to get you started with the process.
Remain Calm and Respectful
If your spouse is asking for a divorce, they have likely been thinking about it for a while. The best thing you can do in this situation is to remain calm, always be respectful of their thoughts and feelings, and do not beg or plead for the relationship. Giving your spouse space and focusing on yourself in this situation is one of the best ways to hold your head up high and show your maturity.
Discuss Your Options
If you feel as though the marriage wasn’t fully explored before your spouse asked for a divorce, have a conversation about it. It’s important to discuss if anything else can be done. What do they need? Have they been asking for something from you and you haven’t provided it? Would therapy help? If there are positive answers to any of these types of questions, you may be able to discuss giving it another shot. However, if your spouse has truly made up their mind, you need to discuss divorce options so that you can keep the divorce process as civil and stress-free as possible. Many questions will arise such as alimony requests, so it’s important to remain friendly to get through this.
Remember Self-Care
It’s very easy to sink into self-sabotaging or unhealthy behaviors when faced with big change such as a divorce. Remember to keep your routine, focus on your work, keep on top of your hygiene, and spend time with loved ones. If you have the resources available and want to talk through this process, seeking help from a therapist is strongly recommended, too.
It’s Okay to Let Go
If you have tried everything you can to hold on to the relationship but your spouse is completely done, it’s time to let go. Whilst it will be very hard to let go, you can move on with the knowledge that you fought for the relationship and it just ran its course. With this knowledge, it’s time to begin your grieving process so you can start the next chapter of your life.
It’s important to remember that you both fell in love with each other at the start and that you’re both human beings and deserve to be treated with respect. So whether it ultimately becomes a collaborative divorce or one that needs more mediation from your divorce attorney, you can get through it. Sarnacki Law Firm is well experienced in divorce mediation so please reach out today so we can help.
