Financial Preparation for Divorce

 Posted on October 16, 2019 in Family Law

Getting your finances in order goes a long way in divorce preparation. A Hinsdale divorce and high asset property division attorney can help you get your legal and financial documents in line to ensure that your divorce goes as smoothly as possible.

Create an Inventory of Your Assets and Debt

Division of marital assets is one of the most hotly contested aspects of divorce. Marital assets include everything acquired during the course of the marriage, while non-marital assets are everything else. Divide assets and debt by marital and nonmarital. Assets include everything from real property, bank accounts, 401(k) accounts, and pension plans, to jewelry, furniture, automobiles, and other tangible belongings. Debt acquired during the marriage is also marital property so long as both spouses signed their names to the mortgage, loan, or credit card.

Compile Documents

Having your financial documents in order saves time and hassle down the road. You probably will not be able to gather every necessary document before you talk to an attorney, but a good start includes locating the following:

• Recent pay stubs
• Credit card statements from the past year
• Bank checking and savings account statements from the past year
• Investment and retirement account statements from the past year
• Income tax returns
• Ledgers for loans and mortgages

Keep Spending to a Minimum

Most Americans do not have enough money stored away to cover a $1,000 emergency expenditure. Whether you fall in this category or not, it is wise to keep large expenses halted until the divorce is finalized. For one, the expenditure may end up falling under the category of a marital asset, meaning that it might be divided between you and your spouse anyways. Secondly, divorce is expensive. If you and your spouse are not on amicable terms or are in disagreement about how your money should be spent—money disagreements are the leading cause of stress in relationships after all— you may want to ask your attorney for a legal separation until the divorce is finalized, which can allow you to use different bank accounts and keep spending separate for the coming months.

Do Not Make Beneficiary Changes or Large Financial Decisions

It may be tempting to quickly make alterations to wills and trusts once you decide that divorce is imminent, but this should be saved for later. In fact, you should ask your attorney before making any big financial decision, as it could have disastrous consequences in court at a later date.

Call Our Hinsdale Divorce Attorneys Today

No divorce should be taken on without the aid of an experienced attorney. To protect your best interests in divorce, call the skilled DuPage County divorce attorneys at the Law Office of Martoccio & Martoccio today for assistance. Call us at 630-920-8855 to schedule a free consultation.

Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/most-americans-dont-have-the-savings-to-cover-a-1000-emergency.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/being-rich-may-increase-your-odds-of-divorce.html