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Moving Out During Divorce
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

Moving Out During Divorce

Should You Move Out During Divorce?

When I was deciding whether and how to move out of the marital home during a divorce, I’m glad that I didn’t consult the general consensus of divorce advice out there on the internet.

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Going Through Divorce: How to Cope with the Long Road Ahead
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

Going Through Divorce: How to Cope with the Long Road Ahead

How long does it take to heal from divorce? That’s a tough question to answer. One of the hardest things about going through divorce is that there is often not a guaranteed end date. You may be dealing with an unknown amount of time.

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Losing Friends During Divorce
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

Losing Friends During Divorce

When you go through a divorce you might anticipate that certain parts of your life will be downsized in the fallout. But it could come as a surprise to see that your friend circle changes shape.

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How to Prepare an Affidavit for Family Court
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

How to Prepare an Affidavit for Family Court

My default is to write, so I had a field day with this exercise and I had been working on the initial affidavit that explained the entirety of our 12-year marriage in a concise and compelling way. I found it cathartic to be able to express parts of my experience (while of course keeping it relevant to a judge).

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Getting Ready for the First Family Court Appearance
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

Getting Ready for the First Family Court Appearance

Going to court is intimidating. You may have lots of nerves before the first appearance but being prepared for the things you can control can help minimize the anxiety around this and also put you in a good light in front of a judge.

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Checklist for Record-Keeping During Divorce
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

Checklist for Record-Keeping During Divorce

This is a really big topic and one that I hope you spend a lot of time and care to do well because if you do the process can be so much easier. You will be shocked at the number of times you’ll be asked to pull up a document, or give an example of some action, or recall how much was spent during a specific period of time.

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Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

Week 4 of Separation and Divorce

Divorce Journal entry of week 4 of my experience back in 2016. I returned back to Australia for the first time since telling my husband. Anxiety and the unknown start to be replaced by intent and purpose.

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Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

Week 3 of Separation and Divorce

Divorce Journal entry of week 3 of my experience back in 2016. This was the week where the anxiety and anticipation of asking for a divorce was replaced by the harsh reality of putting this plan into action finally.

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How to Tell the Kids About the Divorce
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

How to Tell the Kids About the Divorce

I had a 10-year-old and a 1-year-old at the time that this all happened and in an ideal world I would have been there with their dad and together we would have told them what was happening.

I wasn’t given that chance.

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Holding It Together Pre-Announcement
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

Holding It Together Pre-Announcement

I had about a month and a half where I knew and had to hold it together. The experience for me was one of the most uncomfortable of this entire experience that I felt it was important to bring up here in this blog if only just as a small feature.

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How Do I Find a Good Divorce Lawyer?
Laura Santiago Laura Santiago

How Do I Find a Good Divorce Lawyer?

This past weekend I caught up with my divorce lawyer/friend who I hadn’t seen in a year. We had a long, leisurely dinner and she had a chance to see my children who had grown up so much since she first took on my case.

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