Divorce can be tricky. There are a lot of intricacies that come into play when trying to distribute possessions and determine who is going to get what. Even though this isn't the most pleasant experience in your life, you want to make sure you end up getting your fair share. To help you understand what you need to know when dealing with a divorce case, here are three of the main components often involved.

Assets and liabilities.

The judge is going to want to know what all assets were acquired during the marriage. You will need to bring proof of any mortgages, vehicle loans, recreational notes, credit card debt and so on. Anything that you own or are paying on will need to be brought to the attention of the judge. The judge will then be able to look everything over and determine who is going to get what. You want to make sure nothing is left to chance here. Trying to hide an asset will end up coming back on you and show that you aren't someone who can be trusted. Be open and honest about what you have.

Child custody.

When there are children involved, the court will need to determine who is going to get physical custody and how much parenting time the other party is going to get. The judge will have to look at each parent's situation and determine what is in the best interest of the children. When children are old enough to convey who they want to live with, the court will often listen to what they have to say and take that into consideration as well. Typically, the child needs to be around 14, but this varies by state.

Financial records.

Anytime you are going through a divorce, the court is going to want copies of your financial records as part of your divorce paperwork. This is to make sure that one party doesn't have a large bank account sitting out there with all kinds of money in it. Even though you might have worked for it, the court needs to see proof of the account and how the funds were acquired. Trying to hide money during the divorce could end up costing you dearly as the judge could order you to give so much of that account to the other party.

By knowing what you are walking into with your divorce proceeding, you can better prepare yourself for court.