If you’re not happy about the state of your marriage, you have the option of dissolving it. However, just because you think that you’re stuck in a bad marriage doesn’t mean that the divorce process has to be a hard slog. There are many steps that you can take to maximize your chances of ending your marriage in a peaceful and amicable manner.
Treat your spouse with respect
Perhaps the best way to have an amicable divorce is to treat your spouse with respect. Although you may not have warm feelings for them, it may be easier to negotiate a divorce settlement by keeping your emotions out of it. Taking an objective and respectful approach allows your spouse to feel heard and validated, which may prevent communication barriers from being erected. Ultimately, you can spend more time talking about what each person needs from a settlement as opposed to engaging in hurtful or inflammatory rhetoric.
Don’t forget to focus on yourself
You will likely experience a variety of emotions such as grief, fear and anxiety. Ideally, you will process these emotions with the help of family members, friends or a mental health professional. Taking time to process your emotions in a healthy manner can make it easier to focus on divorce settlement talks as well as focus on being there for your children.
Your children need help too
Your kids will likely deal with the fallout of their parents’ divorce for the rest of their lives. Therefore, it’s important that you are there to talk to them or otherwise help them deal with a significant change in circumstances. You should also be on the lookout for changes in mood, poor grades or other signs of potential emotional issues related to your divorce.
In some cases, couples actually feel a sense of relief that their toxic marriage is coming to an end. Therefore, it may be relatively easy to negotiate a settlement that includes spousal support, child support payments or a larger share of marital property.