Don’t make these 3 mistakes in your divorce

Divorce is traumatic for everyone, but for those with great wealth and no pre-nup, it can be very complicated. Sometimes, couples in Massachusetts and elsewhere marry without prenuptial agreements because there was little wealth and few assets when they married.

Below are three common but erroneous assumptions wealthy people make when they are going through a divorce.

1. Failing to Account for the Full Financial Picture

It can be quite difficult to get a complete overview of a couple's economic situation when great wealth is involved. To combat this, a sub-genre of divorce attorneys has emerged -- divorce financial analysts. Their role is to protect and ensure their client's financial status throughout all steps of the divorce process, often by documenting evidence in support of comfortable settlements.

2. Insisting Upon Having Your Day in Court

While some especially acrimonious divorces can be hashed out nowhere but a courtroom, agreeing to mediate and engaging in private negotiations is generally preferable to having all a couple's dirty laundry and financial records exposed.

3. Listening to Family and Well-Meaning Friends

Rather than taking advice about the machinations of your divorce from your best friend or your father, allow the professionals you've chosen to guide you. Instead, turn your inner circle into a support group you can turn to when you need to vent or a shoulder to cry on. Remember that you are paying for premium legal advice, so you should make sure that you take it.

When all is said and done and the ink is finally dry on your divorce decree, you should be in remarkably good financial and emotional shape and ready to embrace your new life.

Source: Forbes, "Three Of The Biggest Mistakes The Wealthy Make When Divorcing" Russ Alan Prince, Jun. 09, 2014