Tips for Moving Out After Divorce

Despite meeting frequently with your divorce lawyers in Clearwater FL, the reality of your divorce may not set in until you pick up that first moving box and begin to pack up your personal items. This can be a daunting and overwhelming task, one that is rife with emotion and even stress. These tips will help make the packing process as seamless as possible for both you and your former spouse:

Create a List of Items You Want to Move into Your New Home

Several weeks before you intend to move, you should sit down with your spouse and create an inventory agreement about what items you will be taking when you move. This may include small household appliances, tools, furniture, decorations, personal items and more. In the event of a contentious divorce, it may be best to draft this agreement along with your divorce lawyers.

Organize and Store Photographs and Personal Mementos

One of the most difficult things to pack and move after a divorce can be personal items, such as mementos or photographs. It may be tempting to throw away the wedding album or the souvenir from your honeymoon. However, now is not the right time to discard items that hold sentimental value. Instead, organize them, separate them and store them so that both you and your ex-spouse have access to them in the future.

Designate a Packing Space in the Home

Clear out a space in the home, such as a dining room or a spare bedroom, to store the moving boxes as you pack them up. It is particularly important to be mindful of children who are in the home and who may be hurt by this difficult process. An extra room or a basement is an easy place to stack boxes while still being discrete.

Begin Packing About Three Days Before the Move

There’s no need to slowly pack up your items over the course of a few weeks. Instead, after an inventory document has been drafted and agreed upon, save your packing until about three days before the move. This is best for you, your former spouse and your children who are living in the home.

Clearwater FL divorce lawyers work with couples who are separating on a daily basis, and they can assist you as you decide what you will be taking and what will stay with your former spouse. It’s important to draft an inventory agreement in writing prior to the move, so that the process can move forward without any unexpected disagreements.