Going through a divorce is not easy for anyone involved.

There are different kinds of pain that come along with divorce, such as emotional pain and financial pain. The pressure of not knowing the future of your own life, as well as the lives of your children, can be straining and cause major anxiety.

When it comes to having kids and getting a divorce, typically, the custody battle is one of the most difficult parts of the process.

If your kids are younger, custody becomes more difficult to acquire. In Pennsylvania, custody is awarded in the best interest of the child. Physical custody means the child is physically in the possession of a parent or guardian, whether that be primary, shared, partial, or supervised custody. Legal custody is when a party is given the right to make decisions on behalf of the child (education, religion, medical, etc.). Custody can be granted to parties other than the biological parents, such as grandparents or great-grandparents.

Once custody is awarded and set-in-stone, the money aspect rolls in. Both of the parents have to determine the amounts for child support under the court’s discretion. Until the child is 18 years of age, the parents (or whoever is granted custody) are responsible for providing for the child. When asking for a divorce settlement, it is imperative that the mother asks for child care and other extracurricular expenses to be divided evenly amongst the parents depending on income for either parent.

In terms of separating your bank accounts, this is where you need to notate and track your account statements.

Typically, sharing money can cause tension and fighting between a couple getting a divorce considering there is a possibility of fraud occurring, as well as identity theft of yourself and/or your children. If the relationship between you and your ex-partner is currently on the uglier side or is heading down that road, you need to remove your name from all accounts that are shared with your ex-partner. Even if there is no tension or fighting, it is recommended to separate yourself from the shared accounts. If you have student loans, if you and your ex-partner purchased cars together, and/or if you purchased a house together, it is important to ensure you are not liable for making the loan payments, car payments, or mortgage payments if you are not responsible for them.

There are numerous things to be aware of before, during, and after going through a divorce.

Women need to be aware of the custody laws in their state and what they imply. Women also need to make sure they are keeping track of their credit and bank statements to prevent any possibility of fraud from occurring, as well as be aware of whose names are attached to certain payments, such as student loans, cars, homes and more. Divorce settlements have a lot of strings attached, so making sure you are aware of what rights you have and what laws are in place will help in the long run for your children and yourself in the process of getting a divorce.