Fifth In in the Top Ten Things To Know When Contemplating Divorce

5. Summarize Marital Lifestyle:

How did you live your life? Did you live a low, middle or upper-class lifestyle? One of the key issues in a matrimonial dispute is marital lifestyle. Begin to describe your marital lifestyle for your attorney using the following categories:

1. Marital residence – size, pool, improvements;
2. Vacation homes;
3. Extent of savings in bank or investment accounts;
4. Types of automobiles, boats, planes, motorcycles or other vehicles or
   recreational crafts;
5. Frequency of vacations and locations;
6. Furs and jewelry;
7. Nature of stores frequented;
8. Country clubs;
9. Extent of entertainment including, but not limited to: gambling, sports, hobbies, restaurants, theatre, movies and the like;
10. Extent of gifts given and received;
11. Extent of service providers such as household help, gardeners, maintenance personnel and the like;
12. Nature, extent and value of household furniture and furnishings, including collectibles and artwork;
13. Children’s expenses, including, but not limited to, private school, camps, tutoring or extracurricular activities;
14. Available cash;
15. Available free time;
16. Personal expenses run through a business;
17. Pets (In one case, the parties had their dog in “Doggy Day Care”).