Divorce is never fun. But you can make things easier on yourself if you prepare:

Weigh the Trial of Your Case in Economic and Non-Economic Terms. Sure you want to win, but don’t let the desire to “best” your ex in a competition cloud your judgement. Remember, the romance is gone, and now it’s just a matter of money and custody. It doesn’t make sense to spend money to get what was offered to you before trial, and being stubborn can result in getting grilled by an attorney about your drug use, DUI, gambling habit or porn viewing.

Take An Inventory of Household Items. You will need to inventory the stuff that has to be divided. You also may need to prove what has been removed or destroyed. If nothing else, walk through the house with a video camera and video everything. You’ll find it helpful when you have to create the list.

Keep a Divorce Diary. Notes that you make about your Ex’s actions or failures to act at that particular time, have much more credibility in court than notes you create after the fact. Whenever your soon-to-be Ex fails to pay support, forgets to pick up the kids, does not follow existing court orders or does anything negative, write it down when it happens. If you don’t, you’ll wish you had, and if you try to write it down later, you’ll just look vindictive.