{"id":17954,"date":"2022-05-09T06:30:02","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T05:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/?p=17954"},"modified":"2022-05-07T18:25:15","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T17:25:15","slug":"holiday-divorce-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/holiday-divorce-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Six ways to protect your divorce process during the summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer holidays always slow everything down – whether you\u2019re going away or not. Your lawyer and their team are likely to be away at some point. And this means your case will be on hold, or handed to someone who knows nothing about you. If you\u2019ve got momentum going behind your divorce the last thing you want is for holidays to undo all your hard work. But, fear not, here are six ways to protect your divorce process during the summer<\/em> at the dreaded slowdown.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Know your key dates<\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not too big a deal if you\u2019re on the back foot so long as your legal team is efficient and keeps you on track. But when they\u2019re off on holiday or overstretched and not responding to emails, it\u2019s extra important you\u2019re organised.<\/p>\n

Now is the time to make contact and plan ahead. When are they planning their holiday time? If you know this you can work around it – you can get your research and thinking done while they\u2019re away, so you\u2019re ready for them when they return. And if you need information and advice, you can make sure you get it before they sign off for two weeks.<\/p>\n

So get your holiday dates in place as soon as you can, and make a note of theirs too. Ask your legal team what they need from you before you go, so they can make progress while you\u2019re away. And make sure you get what you need from them so you\u2019re not held back yourself.<\/p>\n

While you\u2019re on holiday, instruct your legal team to pause any communication from your soon-to-be-ex, and to let your ex know that you won\u2019t be responding until you\u2019re back and have had a chance to digest. You do not want to be dealing with emotive content while you\u2019re supposed to be relaxing. So get those boundaries in place before you set off. If you communicate with your soon-to-be-ex directly it\u2019s both polite and boundary-setting to let them know when you will be unavailable.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Get your paperwork in order<\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important to have some time off. You don\u2019t want to spend your annual leave, or your child-free time, desperately trying to complete the Form E. So start to get your paperwork in order now. If you know you need to get to grips with your financial disclosure, then break it down. Start identifying all your financial assets and liabilities. You don\u2019t have to do it all at once, but it can feel like a huge task if you leave it to the last minute.<\/p>\n

Seek support now if you\u2019re overwhelmed, before the holiday slowdown. I can help you overcome obstacles and get clarity – my Ask The Alchemist<\/a> service is perfect for this, and likely to be more cost and time effective than a back and forth with your solicitor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Get arrangements with the children sorted now<\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s so important to get holiday plans in place with the children as early as possible. If you know when they\u2019re with you and when they\u2019re with their other parent you can plan. And starting the conversation early means you\u2019ll be able to spot any curveballs or communication breakdowns early too.<\/p>\n

The court prefers it when parents decide between themselves how to manage arrangements for their children. Often, a family mediator can help keep conversations productive, fair and on track. So if you don\u2019t have summer holiday (or Christmas) protocols in place, now\u2019s the time to raise the topic. As well as the practical planning advantages it\u2019s better for your children\u2019s mental health to know where they will be during the holiday periods.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a trained family mediator, coach and NLP (neuro linguistic processing) practitioner. I know just how important effective communication is to managing relationships with your ex-spouse. If you need help coming up with a communication strategy, know that I can help you.<\/p>\n

And if you do need to enlist the court to agree childcare arrangements, get your application in now. The courts are busy with covid backlogs and a surge in applications once the no-fault system<\/a> came into effect in April 2022.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>No children? Get caught up<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you don\u2019t have children, you might want to get the \u2018silly season\u2019 of July and August to quietly, peacefully make progress with your divorce. One of the advantages of being child-free is that you don\u2019t have to stick to the school seasons, and you can take your break whenever you like.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean you need to spend summer with your nose to the grindstone though. Take it steady and tackle your divorce in small bites. With plenty of rewards and treats in-between.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Be ready to put it to one side<\/span><\/h2>\n

Whether you have children or not, you don\u2019t want to spend the entire summer slogging away at your divorce. The UK summer weather is unreliable, so you don\u2019t want to miss a rare heatwave by being stuck to your laptop doing financial planning. How can you make sure you can take advantage of the sun, or an invite out to share a bottle of wine with a friend one August Saturday?<\/p>\n

Again, organisation is your friend. If you have a place for all your divorce admin – both physical and virtual, you can literally file it away, whether it\u2019s for a guilt-free week in the sun or a day out. Make a note of where you\u2019ve got to, what\u2019s outstanding and the next action you need to take. If you\u2019re relying on information from someone else, get the request in before you have your break. Then, hopefully, the answer will be waiting for you when you return.<\/p>\n

It can take just 10 minutes to get your filing in order and make a quick list of where you\u2019re up to in the process. But taking this step will enable two important things: 1. It will help your brain switch off from your divorce, and 2. It will mean you can hit the ground running when you return. So it\u2019s time well spent. Put an out of office on your email so everyone knows they will need to wait for your reply. And take the time to relax.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Get your holiday strategy in place<\/span><\/h2>\n

Whether it\u2019s a communication strategy so you can keep things on an even keel with your soon-to-be-ex, understanding your finances or working out what\u2019s next in the process, I can help. I have a range of one-to-one coaching services<\/a> to help you navigate your divorce on your terms. Every divorce is unique, and, ultimately, you know what\u2019s best for you, your family and your future. I can help you get there.<\/p>\n

Book in a free 30 minute consultation<\/a> and let\u2019s get started today.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>About Emma<\/span><\/h2>\n

Emma Heptonstall,<\/b><\/a><\/span>\u00a0the Divorce Alchemist is the author of the Amazon best-selling book\u00a0How to be a Lady Who Leaves, the Ultimate Guide to Getting Divorce Ready<\/b><\/span><\/a>. A former lawyer, Emma is a family mediator and founder of Get Divorce Ready the online self-study and group programmes. Emma has been featured on BBC Radio, The Telegraph, the iPaper and in Marie Claire Magazine. Emma is also the host of\u00a0\u00a0The Six Minute Divorce Podcast<\/b><\/span><\/a>. To find out more visit\u00a0www.emmaheptonstall.com<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer holidays always slow everything down – whether you\u2019re going away or not. Your lawyer and their team are likely to be away at some point. And this means your case will be on hold, or handed to someone who knows nothing about you. If you\u2019ve got momentum going behind your divorce the last thing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,20,397,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-i-want-to-leave-my-husband","category-divorce-coaching","category-divorce-self-care","category-divorce-support"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Blog-Image-Templates-for-WordPress-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C516&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6aDhr-4FA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmaheptonstall.com\/divorce-coaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}