We all want to communicate with others, it’s one of the most basic of human needs. This is especially true in times of divorce. Wanting to communicate with people and knowing how to do it is often where problems can occur.
In today’s world, there are more ways to communicate your divorce announcement than ever before.
For almost anyone on earth that has access to a computer, Facebook is the dominant force in Social Media. It makes sense that you might be contemplating announcing your divorce on Facebook. You can reach hundreds or even thousands of people with a single post. Facebook offers a number of approaches. There’s the subtle way, simply changing your relationship status from married to single, divorced or its complicated.
The downside of doing this is that your status change could trigger a barrage of messages and comments from concerned friends and family.
If you do announce your divorce like the one mentioned above, posting that on Facebook can actually be reasonably productive. You will break the news to a lot of people at one time. However, the best way to announce this kind of thing on Facebook is to prepare a joint statement with your spouse. Even with divorce, there’s strength in presenting a united front. If that’s not possible, you can always post the news alone.
Just remember one thing: Everything you post on Facebook can be used against you in court. So if you’re not doing a joint statement, keep your post short, simple and non offensive!
Mass Email
A more private alternative than social media, email is a good way to let people far and wide know the news. It also controls WHO knows, since you’ll control who gets the email. But, this approach also has its downsides.
First, if you send a mass email to a lot of people at once through your regular email you might get tagged for spam. That means that lots of people won’t see it.
Of course, you could send individual (and personalized) emails to everyone you know. The biggest downside to this is that custom crafting all those emails can be tiring. The final problem is that, as with Facebook, you’re likely to get a responses you’re not ready for.
Divorce Announcements
Much Like wedding announcements, divorce announcements are a thing and they are a formal way to let your friends and family know about your new development. These should ONLY be used once your divorce is final and should NOT be used until such time.
Greeting card universe features a number of divorce announcements. If you do decide to send divorce announcements though, use caution. While most of them seem funny, a great deal of them border on bad taste. So if your intended recipients are easily offended, this may not be the best way to break the news to them.
Christmas Cards
Just like with Facebook, there’s two schools of thought on this way of announcing your divorce.
If you’re trying to be subtle, you can include a family photo of just you and your kids in your Christmas card. Simply sign the card with just your name and your kids’ names. Most people can read between the lines, although some may think your spouse died.
If you choose to be more forthcoming you can always include a statement in your card about what happened this year with your family and include the announcement of the divorce in that.
This approach isn’t for everyone but it could cut down on the emails and comments you might face using social media.
Face to Face
There’s no more personal way to communicate but it’s also one of the hardest ways. It’s emotional and time consuming. When you are first starting your divorce journey, having one-on-one conversations about your divorce with anyone can be extremely challenging.
However, face to face conversations are the best way to break the news of your divorce to those who are close to you. Just make sure you keep it positive and productive.
You also need to consider the timing of the conversation. If you open up to people about your divorce too soon, you’re either going to be a sobbing mess or you’re going to be mad enough to spit nails. Your emotions are too raw for you to be anything else.
Being emotional is okay if the people you are talking to are your closest friends and family. If you’re trying to have a face to face conversation with anyone else, it’s probably best to wait until your emotions have settled down and you can talk about your divorce without becoming too emotional.
If you’re facing the prospect of divorce call the attorneys at Harmon and Gorove today and schedule a free consultation to find out what your options are for an uncontested divorce.