Five Stages Of Grief When Going Through a Divorce… And How a Lawyer Can Help!

Going through a divorce is extremely difficult and taxing, whatever the reason for the separation. It’s natural to feel distressed and sorrow, even for the spouse who wants to end the marriage.

There are five stages of grief a person experiences when going through a divorce. Let’s find out what they are and how having a competent lawyer on the side can help:

Denial

Denial is a refusal to accept reality. It’s typically our first reaction when we’re face with any sudden loss, as it protects from the intensity of the shock. We subconsciously try to deny the event to avoid facing a harsh reality that causes unhappiness.

People who are in denial feel isolated and avoid making choices or fulfilling responsibilities. This can affect the divorce process tremendously, for instance, the spouse in denial may not be able to deal with correspondence or make good decisions.

Having a divorce lawyer on their side can be extremely crucial at this stage. They will take care of the court process and deal with all the correspondence while the person who’s in denial is able to process what’s going on and come to terms with reality.

Anger

Once a person gets through the denial stage, they start to experience anger and rage at the prospect of divorce. This can make people do something that they’ll regret afterwards and feel guilty about it.

Anger can make a person feel overwhelmed and hinder their ability to think clearly. This can can cause problems in court. For instance, a person may make an irrational decision just because they want to win a day in court.

An experienced divorce lawyer will take the negotiation process in their hands and help their client prepare for the court date.

Bargaining

At this stage, people think about what they could have done to prevent a particular situation—in this case, divorce. The feelings of guilt and anger can add up and they may try to seek ways to prevent the loss, perhaps by making a deal or promising to do anything.

Again, a divorce lawyer will ensure that the client doesn’t get overwhelmed and make wrong choices or attempt to give away their rightful possessions just because they are being compulsive and thinking straight.

For instance, a spouse can try to offer a higher settlement than they can afford just because they want to end things on a good note and keep doors open. The divorce lawyer will advise them against making any choice that can hurt them in the future.

Depression

People incorrectly identify the earlier stages of grief as depression because they fail to realize that it takes a certain period to develop. Now this isn’t a chronic depression so it’s dealt with differently. Here, a good option is to schedule an appointment with a therapist.

A competent divorce lawyer will understand that depression can make their client feel isolated, lost, and empty, hence they might not be in a frame of mind to make a rational choice. Hence, they will take matters in their own hands and work on things at a pace that’s convenient for their client.

Acceptance

This is the best period of the process, as the person is ready to move on and make peace with their past. They are actually able to see that it’s the beginning of a new life chapter.

At this stage, a divorce lawyer will finally work with their client to develop a solid strategy to keep their legal rights protected. For example, how to divide the assets, how much settlement to accept, among other important divorce terms.

As we can see, having a divorce lawyer on the side is highly important for spouse who’s getting a divorce. While your solicitor cannot prevent you from experience the raw grief as a result of your divorce, they can certainly ease the divorce and settlement process while ensuring that your legal rights remain protected.

Looking for a divorce solicitor?

We specialize in various fields of law, including children law, family law personal injury, and many more. If you want to hire a divorce solicitor to defend your rights during the divorce process, get in touch with us today and schedule an appointment. Call 020 3417 3700 for more information.