Many women acquiesce to their spouse’s suggestion or demand to control money. This means that many women are in the dark as to their financial house. They may not know which accounts their spouse has opened or the balances of these accounts. Learning about these important aspects of their lives can help women save money on a forensic accountant or trying to make changes to their divorce settlement after such accounts are later discovered. This can also help expedite the process in freezing joint accounts if that becomes necessary or is mandatory in your state.
Women should wrangle important financial documents, including the last three years’ worth of income tax returns, year-end account statements for investment and checking accounts, an employee benefits summary and recent check stubs.
Talk to an Accountant
Accountants can do more than file a tax return. They can help evaluate a person’s current financial position. They can make recommendations on how to save money. They can also help project a post-divorce budget. For many women, a divorce means a significant decrease in income. This change in income should be factored in. Divorcing women may also need to estimate their living expenses post-divorce. This may involve downsizing and moving to a more affordable home. It is also worth considering assets and if there are any that can be liquidated to help with this transition.
Additionally, they can help determine the amount of money women will need to support themselves and their children during the divorce process to assist in temporary court orders regarding maintenance income.
Take Care of Your Credit
Like handing over control and overview of their finances, many women are not in tune with their credit score and history. In some cases, the other spouse has made sure to use his or her own name, leaving the wife with unestablished credit. Alternatively, the spouse may have used the wife’s name to secure credit and then not maintained a good credit profile.
There are several steps that women can take to affect their credit in a positive manner during the divorce. The first step is to get a free credit report and review it. If the credit report is bare, this is the opportunity for a woman to secure her own credit. The credit card should be in the woman’s name only. Any newly-acquired credit should be used sparingly and paid off in full.
Avoid taking on additional debt loads. For example, avoid purchasing a new home, starting a large renovation project or financing expensive vacations with a divorce looming in front of you.
Women should avoid raiding joint accounts out of spite, which will only result in both spouses having more debt to consider during the divorce settlement. Likewise, they should help prevent their spouse from raiding accounts, too. This may require closing joint accounts or withdrawing half of the funds, upon the advice of legal counsel. Likewise, certain accounts may need to be frozen if the woman believes that her spouse will tamper with them upon learning about the divorce. This may include credit accounts, investment accounts and bank accounts.
Alert creditors of an impending divorce. Provide them with a safe mailing address, such as a post office box in your name only. Be sure that you continue to make timely payments on credit accounts during divorce to help minimize the negative financial impact of divorce.
Find the Right Lawyer
Interview a few family law lawyers before you decide on one. Consider the amount of experience the lawyer has, as well as the amount of his or her practice that is dedicated to family law. Talk about the lawyer’s approach. Collaborative divorce can help the spouses agree on as many issues as possible to help reduce the time and expense of litigation. However, also be sure that your lawyer feels comfortable to argue your case in court if necessary.
Update Your Resume
If a woman has been out of the workforce to support her spouse’s career or to raise children, it may be time for her to start a new job. She may need separate funds to pay a divorce lawyer and other professional services. Get some experience volunteering if paid work is not an option.
Maintain a Journal
Document, document, document. Keep a journal of all important dates and activities during the divorce stage. This item can come in handy during your divorce and custody proceedings.
Behave
Anything inappropriate that you do can be used against you in the divorce or custody proceedings. Avoid any romantic relationships while the divorce is pending. Maintain the same rules and structure for your children that you had before thinking about divorce.
