If I am planning to get a divorce, what are some things I should typically avoid doing?

This is a good question, and there are plenty of things you should not do!  Here are some of my favorites: 

1.       At least if you and your spouse are Ohio residents, you probably should not cancel medical insurance that covers your spouse.  In many situations, a person is liable for his or her spouse’s necessary medical treatments.  I have seen situations where, apparently to “get even” with a spouse, a person cancels her medical insurance.  Then, she has a serious medical problem which produces large bills, and the bill collectors ultimately go after the person who cancelled the insurance. 

2.       It is not a good idea to post nasty things about the other spouse on social media.  More often than not, I view these kinds of postings as being unnecessarily abusive.  They can go a long way toward helping prove that the poster engages in nasty behavior, which can amount to grounds for a divorce! 

3.       While we are on the social media subject, I want to talk about another related subject.  A lot of people tend to post things that ultimately can be very embarrassing or harmful.  Here is a case in point:  a person involved in a heated divorce action is trying to prove she is morally upright and is a good steward of money, but she goes on to post photos of herself and her non-spouse on an expensive vacation, bragging that she paid for it!  That doesn’t endear one to the other side or to the Court. 

4.       Something that I have seen in many, many child custody cases is parents who argue that they should have custody, but are not very involved in their children’s lives.  Being involved includes things like going to school events, knowing and talking with teachers, attending and participating in children’s extra-curricular activities such as theater, music, debate and athletics.  Another area where many parents fall short is not participating in the children’s medical or dental care.  And, there are many parents who don’t even know what size clothing their children wear!  It’s pretty difficult to prove you are the best custodian for a child when you don’t know her teacher’s name, whether she has visited the doctor in the last six months, or if she is a pitcher or infielder on her softball team. 

Undoubtedly, there are a lot of other things people should avoid when it comes to the area of divorce, and this was by no means a comprehensive list.  But, I hope it makes the readers think!