What to know before you file for Divorce by Carla V. Risoldi

1. Divorce
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE
YOU FILE
By Carla V. Risoldi
Attorney at Law licensed in PA
& NJ
Divorce & Custody Mediator

2. One month before you file
• One month before you file for divorce, you should plan where you
are going to live, are you going to continue to reside with your
spouse or are you going to move out of the marital home?
• If you are planning to physically separate (whether you or your
spouse is moving out), consider, are you the economically superior
or the economically dependent spouse? If economically dependent,
you should consider planning to file for spousal and/or child support
around the time of your separation as support usually is determined
as of the date it is filed (so long as you are physically separated) and
not the date of the separation. If you have minor children, consider
filing for a custody order around the time of separation.
• Before moving out of the house, do your best to compile clear copies
or electronic copies of important economic information such as bank

3. One week before you file
• A week before you file, you should have already consulted with an
experienced attorney and decided where you will be residing and
considered whether or not you need to be filing for support or child
custody.
• You should have already compiled copies of important economic
documents and have them out of the house in a safe place.
• You should consider the final logistics of your separation. If you are
moving out, you should consider how you are telling your spouse,
and arrange for a safe removal from the home with your important
items such as clothing and personal effects and anything that you

4. The day before you file
• Consider the possibility of an amicable resolution with your
spouse to some or all of your disputed issues. Can you agree
on a custody schedule, agree to resolve support through the
courts and agree the you both want to sell the marital home, but
maybe not agree (yet) on division of home contents, retirement
benefits and the like? If possible, to do so safely, consider
discussing the separation and interim or permanent
arrangements with your spouse.
• You should finalize arrangements for separation, if you are
moving out (or if your spouse is moving out), documents

5. After you file
• Follow the advice of your attorney.
• Continue to compile necessary documentation and discuss
options for settlement where agreement is possible.
• Think before posting on social media, it will not help your case
to discuss details of your life, your opinions of your estranged
spouse and the like with the online community and what you
post could be used against you later in a court proceeding.
• Manage expectations. No one is happy to get divorced; the
children may be affected, and you are always better to keep a

6. If you need an attorney or mediator in
Pennsylvania or New Jersey
• Carla V. Risoldi founded Risoldi Law Offices, LLC in 1994
where she has practiced family law in Pennsylvania and New
Jersey. The office is located at 1508 Trenton Road, Suite B,
Langhorne, PA 19047 with a satellite office in New Hope,
Pennsylvania. She can be reached at 215-741-3700.
www.risoldilawoffices.com
• In 2019, Carla V. Risoldi founded samaggikaranam divorce &
custody mediation, llc (samaggikaranam means “peace-making”
in the ancient Pali language). You can reach her at 215-741-
1011. sam-mediation.com