10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting a Divorce

Don't use friends for legal advice — meaning, don't hire a friend to handle the divorce even though your friend will cut you a break financially. My ex and I started out this way, and the friend was truly lovely and magnanimous at heart to want to help two broke people divorce, but we ended up switching counsel (to mediators) for various reasons, which derailed finalizing the divorce. It's been 20 months, and it's still not final. Lesson learned!