If you are thinking about getting a divorce, you might be ready to sit down with your spouse to talk about it. Before you do so, however, you should consider meeting with a divorce attorney. These are a few reasons why you should talk to an attorney before you talk to your spouse about divorce.

Keep Yourself Safe

If you are in a bad situation, it is important for you to keep yourself safe. If you are afraid that your spouse might react violently against you or your children when you mention divorce, you need to think ahead of time about how you will protect yourself. Your divorce lawyer can give you advice about the right steps that should be taken in your situation, such as working with local law enforcement to ensure you and your kids' protection.

Build Your Case

It can be easier to build your divorce case while you are still living in the same house and while your spouse doesn't yet know that you're thinking about a split. Some people start hiding money and assets before an impending divorce because they do not want to lose these things in the divorce proceedings. It can be easier for you to gather up financial records such as income information and a list of assets while you and your spouse are still together. It may be easier to gather other evidence for yourself as well, such as proof of infidelity, if your spouse doesn't yet know that you're thinking about divorce.

Avoid the Wrong Initial Steps

It is possible to make bad decisions when initially leaving your spouse. For example, moving out of the marital home could be seen as abandonment. This is especially true if you leave your children in the family home without taking the right steps first. Other things, such as dating before you are legally divorced, can also affect your divorce. If you talk to a lawyer first, you can talk about your plans and determine how to take these steps the right way. Your lawyer can even give you pointers about the best steps to take in your situation.

Talk to a divorce lawyer before you ever approach the topic of divorce with your soon-to-be ex-spouse. Most good divorce lawyers, such as Mira Staggers White, are willing to meet up without charging you anything for the consultation, so you can get advice without having to shell out any cash.