Worried about how your divorce will affect your finances? This divorce advice is for you.
Here are five ways to get your finances ready for divorce.
Create a Budget for After Your Divorce
If you didn’t know before, now you know—living on one salary can be more difficult than living on two incomes. The first thing you need to do when getting your finances ready for divorce is to find out what you are going to need after the divorce is complete. Will you need a new car? Do you have a place to live, or will you be renting? Do you need to switch your insurance? Start with your immediate needs, and from there, work on creating a budget that plans for the future.
Track Your Expenditures
If you don’t know how to create a budget for after the divorce, you will need to start tracking your expenses. Some couples delegate the finances to one spouse. If you are the spouse who never paid attention to money before, now is the time to start paying attention. Make sure you have access to all the financial accounts that you own jointly with your spouse.
Aside from helping you to see how your finances will look after divorce, tracking your expenditures will also provide your attorney with some critical information. The info that you hand over to your lawyer will help determine how the courts will split your assets between you and your spouse, so be as thorough as possible.
Prepare for the Right Situation
Do you think your divorce will be amicable? If not, will you still be able to cooperate with your spouse throughout the process? In amicable divorces, spouses are more likely to communicate and share information freely with one another. If you foresee a problem working with your spouse, speak to your attorney about how you might be able to compel them to be more cooperative.
Don’t Change Your Beneficiaries Just Yet
Before you go changing the beneficiaries on your accounts and insurance policies, know this—doing so could land you in some trouble. Changing beneficiaries might seem like you are just protecting your assets, but doing so before the divorce proceedings play out could make the court side with your spouse. If you want to make changes to any of your assets, speak with an attorney first.
Keep Things Transparent with Your Spouse
When you are going through a divorce, it’s important to keep things transparent with your spouse. Don’t try to dip into your joint accounts more than you have in the past. Keep spending money as you have done in the past. If you don’t have any savings set aside, speak to your spouse about how much is reasonable to spend on an attorney. You may discover that you need to take a less expensive approach, at which point you may need to consider whether mediation is your best option.
Get Divorce Advice from an Experienced Attorney
Are you worried about how your divorce will affect your finances? You don’t have to be. Get in touch with me so that we can discuss your case and make a plan.