A quick divorce in LA county is possible if there are not a lot of assets to split up.  However, things can get tricky if you acquired a lot of assets such as property during your marriage.  California is a “community property” state and something as simple as a refinance on a house can complicate the division of property.  Furthermore, since the law mandates that both sides must extensively disclose their finances and exchange their findings, you need to prepare a list of bank accounts, credit card numbers, stock broker accounts, and insurance policies to gain a better picture of your financial state.

The question of alimony must also be considered.  Unlike child support which is taken from a mathematical formula, spousal support is dependent of many factors.  Considerations such as the length of the marriage, the standard of living, the age and health of both parties are just some samples of things taken into account.  California Family Code: 4320-4324 lists the factors that are involved to determine if one party is obligated to pay the other party spousal support.

Getting a quick divorce or a “do it yourself” divorce is easy in Los Angeles if there are no complications such as the division of property and assets or arranging child custody and visitation rights.  However, nothing is ever that clean cut and that is why finding a good Los Angeles divorce attorney is important to help you navigate through the Los Angeles divorce court.  The last thing you want is to have an acrimonious, viscious and messy long divorce process.  A competent Los Angeles divorce lawyer can help you reach a fair settlement from the divorce.  It is of vital importance that you protect the rights and interests of yourself and your children whether you are the one getting or paying alimony and child support payments.  Getting your Los Angeles divorce documentation and forms in order and presenting them to your LA divorce lawyer is the first step in finding a quick divorce resolution.

Once you decide to divorce, here are some things to consider:

Maintaining records of personal expenses should be routine for most individuals.  It is even more vital than ever to keep accurate records of personal expenses when going through a divorce.  These are the type of expenses a divorce attorney will need to know.  Keep track of expenses relating to food, gas, mortgage or rent, utilities, clothing and other items.

Along the same vein, keep a stack of cancelled checks, statements and invoices from as far back as you can.  By being thorough, it will help tremendously when you meet with the Los Angeles divorce lawyer in the initial consultation process and throughout litigation.  Keep your papers organized.

Be knowledgeable about your investment situation along with that of your spouse.   List for the divorce attorney all business and investment assets that you and your spouse own in joint or separate accounts.  This will be useful in determining spousal support to maintain living standards in Los Angeles.

Make sure that you have paid all your taxes.  This includes federal, California, Los Angeles taxes before filing for a divorce.  If you have doubt that your has properly reported on taxes and stands to be audited, request for amendment and file as married-filing separately.

When going through a divorce, establish credit in your own name if you have not already done so.  This means a major credit card company along and/or a gasoline company.  On the other hand, if do already have personal credit, now is a good time to request a credit report and know where you stand.

Since divorce can wreck havoc of your personal credit and you don’t want to go into debt, begin to start saving for yourself.  You don’t know how long it will take for the divorce to finalize as you might require immediate funds.

If children are involved, keep a diary of all activities between your spouse and your children.  You need to note your activities too in case of custody issues.

Consider getting insurance coverage and calculate how much it will cost post-divorce.  If you are currently covered under your spouse, get complete health and dental check-ups now for you and your children.

Take pictures and video tape your house of its contents and all of your valuables.  This will serve as proof of it’s existance when splitting up the marital estate.

Undoubtedly, going through a divorce is a serious undertaking.  It is assumed that you have exausted all options of saving the marriage.  Now it’s time to be on your own and a part of that is to take control of the divorce process.  We hope that the above list will help you prepare for finding a divorce lawyer in Los Angeles.