Divorce is a big personal change, but it will also affect your finances. It’s imperative to have a solid plan in place, as this will go a long way in helping protect your finances and position you for the future you want.
Here are some of the most common concerns regarding finances in divorce:
- Family home: If both of you want to remain in the family home, it can soon turn into a sticking point that’s a challenge to get past. Begin to prepare for this possibility as far in advance as possible.
- Retirement accounts: Regardless of your age, don’t lose sight of the fact that retirement will be here before you know it. If you give up your rights to retirement assets in divorce, you’re likely to regret it down the road. Doing this could result in a situation in which you’re unable to retire when you want to.
- Separate property: Any property that you own separately from your spouse is not subject to division in divorce. However, this doesn’t mean that it won’t become a point of contention. For example, you may assume that an asset is separate, but your soon-to-be ex-spouse argues that it’s subject to division.
- Debt: You focus so much attention on your assets that you forget that you also need to divide debt. This takes on many forms, such as credit card debt, car loans and personal loans.
- Child support and spousal support: It doesn’t matter if you’re paying one or both of these or receiving funds, you must have a clear idea of your legal rights and the impact on your future. For example, if you’re responsible for paying child support, it will affect your post-divorce budget.
Don’t take the easy way out
It’s easy to give up altogether and hope for the best, but if you go down this path it may work against you in the future.
Plan for every situation imaginable, as doing so will position you to manage anything that comes your way. When you protect your rights with regard to your finances, you’ll feel better about every step of the divorce process.
