After separating, and before the divorce, you should consult with your divorce lawyer and follow their advice as much as possible, as you do not want to undermine your own case. If your divorce lawyer specifically tells you to do something, or not do something, going forward in the divorce proceedings then there is a reason for it. The most frequent issues encountered in divorces are where the children are used as pawns against the other person, by refusing to pay maintenance or creating issues with care and contact, or when one spouse tries to divest themself of assets to avoid the proprietary consequences of the divorce. You should also be cautious about attempts by your spouse to reconcile, as these could be genuine or these could be done with the intention of undermining particular claims by you in your divorce papers, avoid/remove their own issues or be opportunistic to try and effectively reset matters if it becomes clear that they are suffering losses in the divorce. It should also be noted that you do not have to go into any details, if the divorce is settled or proceeds on an unopposed basis, for the breakdown of the divorce if you and your spouse have been separated and living apart from one another for a continuous period of one year or more, as the Court will accept that the marriage has irretrievably broken down on this basis alone. Some general rules of thumb: don’t use the children as pawns against your spouse in any manner; don’t prevent your spouse from having appropriate contact (without actual good cause for why this would endanger the children) even if your spouse won’t pay maintenance; don’t refuse to pay maintenance, even if your spouse is denying you contact; don’t refuse to pay any maintenance whatsoever (including spousal maintenance) pending the finalisation of the divorce, even if you cannot contribute much, as you must try and at least contribute something instead of nothing; don’t interfere with your spouse at their home or work now that you are separated; don’t refuse reasonable requests by your spouse to access the home to collect their own items or to value a property, particularly if they are a co-owner; don’t hide or get rid of assets, particularly as this is bound to be discovered and your actions will then undermine your own case before a Judge (and your spouse can still have a proprietary claim post-divorce if they discover this); don’t refuse to co-operate with the other side in the divorce process, including opportunities to try and settle the divorce.