Unfortunately, people do tend to overlook or, in some cases, deliberately hide evidence of financial holdings during the divorce process in Massachusetts. You could potentially benefit from securing early access to detailed records of the material facts of your marriage. Some key documents could include the title of your home, descriptions of investments, bank statements, taxes and bills.
The extent to which you prepare is likely to affect the eventual outcome of your case. Also, although you would probably not be obligated to tell your spouse that you were collecting information, it could be a good idea to speak to an advisor before you begin the process.
You may also want to consider some other factors, such as the seasonality of divorce. According to a USA Today article, summer break is one of the high seasons for marital dissolution. While the article goes into some depth about this pattern, including some of its possible causes, it probably means something different if you are currently facing a split.
In divorce, knowledge is power. It is likely to take time for you to gather all of the information you need to support your arguments and defend your position. If you sense things are not going well, it is never too early to start collecting information on important subjects, especially finances.
If you are not the partner who takes care of the money for your household, there may be quite a bit that you do not know. Examples could include how much your partner earns, where all of the money in the marriage goes and so on.
You can start gathering knowledge by gathering physical documents or photos of them. There is often nothing stopping you from starting early — preparation for a summer breakup could even begin several months ahead of time. In most cases, you are well within your rights to do this. However, you should probably contact someone with some detailed knowledge to look over the specifics of your case. Please do not regard this as specific legal advice.
