For many, a divorce can seem like an otherworldly event. From the sudden lack of privacy, with the court and other attorneys demanding to know intimate details, to the sense of moving into uncharted territory with your life and your children’s lives, divorce is not a process most people are prepared for when they finally decide to act.
Even knowing others who have experienced this process is no substitute for actually undergoing a divorce on your own. When you sit down and begin to develop a parenting plan for your child or children, and grasp that you may not see them during the holidays or that your summer vacations will be very different, it truly begins to hit home.
Or when you go through your finances and realize how much money it will take to operate your new household, it can be scary. And this is why you want to exercise the highest degree of care in examining all of your assets and debt.
You may need new bank accounts and credit cards if you only had joint accounts with your spouse. It is very important to close all joint accounts, as this prevents a spouse from draining or wasting assets. It also stops the potential for your spouse to run up charges on the credit card or otherwise burden the marital estate with additional debt.
You should also note that any existing debt should be formally dealt with in the divorce settlement, as those obligations are controlled by the credit contract or the loan documents, and merely indicating in your divorce settlement that the other spouse is responsible for paying that debt will not prevent the creditor from demanding payment should your ex-spouse declare bankruptcy.
Your attorney can help you with this process, to ensure that all of your assets and debts are properly accounted for in the divorce proceedings and you will not face some financial surprise years from now.
Source: gogirlfinance.com, “How To Prepare For A Divorce,” Sarah Change, September 23, 2015
