Four Financial Tips Before Divorce

There are Four Important Things you need to do before Filing for Divorce!

1. Close Joint Accounts. Close all joint checking and savings accounts. As soon as you file, your spouse may well out of spite or fear empty out your joint accounts and once that money is gone it can be hard to retrieve.

2. Monitor Jointly held Liabilities. Pay close attention to debts in both names such as credit cards, mortgages or car loans. If your spouse stops paying on that car loan, for example, that can ruin your credit. If your spouse runs up large credit card bills, that can erase any divorce settlement depending on who is ordered to pay them. Your attorney will need to be informed and may need to have an order entered blocking any further charges.

3. Change your will or trust now. You can change the beneficiary before the divorce is final or even filed. There are cases where in the midst of the divorce, someone dies. The family may be devastated to know that all assets go to the estranged spouse even if the parties have been separated for years.

4. Adjust your insurance coverage. Once the divorce is final, you will automatically be taken off your spouse’s medical insurance. Investigate what sort of Cobra Coverage he or she has. The Plan has to offer you some extension of insurance for a period of time at a cost.

You may also want to review any Life Insurance Policies in effect. You can change beneficiaries now even before the Divorce is final.

Divorce is a big step and it pays to be prepared.