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Stability During Marital Crisis: A Checklist

1. Seek the advice and support of a trained marital counselor or clergy. Go alone if your spouse will not go with you.
2. Consult your counselor on how to handle this crisis with your children.
3. Alert teachers and other caregivers to the stresses at home. Ask them to be particulary attentive for any changes in your children's mood or behavior.
4. Safeguard marital assets-especially those that can be spent, sold or encumbered--so that they aren't used, hidden, abused or pledged as collateral without your knowledge or approval.
5. Create a Rainy Day Fund in a bank account you alone control to assure that you won't be left high and dry.
6. Identify a safe place where you and your kids can go immediately if you or they are ever physically at risk.
   (See Shelters for Domestic Violence Victims)
7. Copy and safeguard your tax returns and all attachments, schedules, and W-2s from at least the last three years, as well as any titles, deeds, and other ownership proofs for any assets owned jointly or singly.
8. Obtain a widely accepted credit card like Visa® or Mastercard® in your own name.
9. Once divorce is a possibility, consult with an attorney knowledgeable in family law to guide both your behavior and decisions.