Guiding You Toward A Better Future

How Can I Prepare Financially Before I Ask For A Divorce

On Behalf of | May 5, 2022 | Divorce

People often worry about the financial ramifications of getting a divorce. They would like to know how they can plan in advance to make things go as smoothly as possible and to protect their financial future.

Fortunately, your financial situation should never keep you trapped in a marriage that you would like to leave. There are a lot of things that you can do to get ready in advance, some of which we will discuss below.

Review the accounts that you hold

Start by considering the accounts that you already hold so that you know exactly what assets you own. These could include savings accounts, retirement accounts, investment portfolios and much more. Not only do you need to know exactly what is included in these accounts so that you can be sure your spouse isn’t hiding anything, but you can also begin to get a sense of what your financial picture may look like after the split.

Determine your future income

It’s good to track your expenses and then compare them to your income currently, but you also want to anticipate what your expenses are going to look like in the future and determine what your income will be after the divorce. This could include Social Security benefits or investment income, not just a paycheck. Things like this are especially important if you’re trying to decide if you should keep the family home or not. People often want to keep their home, but you need to make sure that you can financially afford to pay the mortgage, pay for upkeep, pay the taxes and do everything else on one income.

Create a budget for the future

Finally, you can create a divorce budget. This can show you if you need to curb your spending or adjust your income in any way. It may also just give you peace of mind as you realize that you will still have plenty of income to cover your costs. Either way, divorce is a time to reassess the way that you look at your money, and you can make a plan for the future so that things go well.

If you’re involved in a complicated divorce with significant assets, it’s very important to know exactly what legal steps you can take it this time.

FindLaw Network