Monday, September 29, 2014

There are Two Ways to Prepare for an International Divorce

Are you someone who always runs at the last minute to catch a plane? Or do you prefer to arrive at the airport ten minutes early and relax?

This is a question that ‘marketing guru’ Seth Godin asks so as to illustrate the benefits of sensible planning in business.

In my area -- international family law -- it raises these questions:

• Do you think it’s better to wait until you’re served with divorce papers before running to a lawyer in a panic?

• Or would be better to plan in advance?

• If you and/or your spouse are internationally connected, would it be best to wait until your relationship has exploded to find out whether your case can and should be brought in another jurisdiction?

• Or would it better to know the international choices that you have at a time when you can still influence the results?

The answers to the questions are pretty obvious.

It’s better to get regular dental check-ups than waiting for a toothache and then having nasty root canal work.

And it’s better to ask an international family lawyer to do some Strategic International Divorce Planning than to wait for the last minute when it may be too late for you to change course.

It’s the doing that’s tougher than the agreeing. In our case we’ll do most of it for you. But you have to get things started.