3 Things You Need To Do To Protect Yourself During A Divorce
Posted on: 27 January 2017
Many couples chose to divorce. In fact, it seems so common that many people think that they know what to do during a divorce that they don't properly prepare themselves. This is a mistake and if you don't educate yourself properly on what to do during a divorce, you could harm yourself legally. Here are some things you need to do right as the divorce begins to protect yourself.
1. Change All Of Your Estate Planning Documents
One of the biggest mistakes that people make is failing to make changes to their estate planning documents. For example, you probably have your spouse listed as the beneficiary on most of your estate and bank accounts. In addition, if you have a life insurance policy, your spouse is the person that is most commonly named as the beneficiary. This means that if something were to happen to you during this time, and things do happen, your estranged spouse would have a claim on everything that you have. You don't know if they have your best interest at hand, if they will take care of things how there are suppose to, and so much more. This is why the moment things go south and you start the divorce process, you should change your estate planning documents and life insurance policy so that someone you trust is now your power of attorney and the beneficiary.
2. Avoid Entering A New Relationship
If the marriage has been rocky you are probably considering starting a new relationship. You might even have someone in mind that you would like to date. Although you deserve to move on, you should not do it until the divorce is legally finalized. If it can be proven that you were unfaithful during the marriage, or if you are unfaithful during the divorce, because you are still technically married throughout the divorce process, it can really hurt your case. For this reason, hold off starting any new relationships until you are legally divorced.
3. Separate All Of Your Money
You probably have joint bank accounts with your spouse and you probably share a great deal of money. Once the divorce starts, freeze any joint accounts and don't contribute anymore to them. Even your retirement accounts should be halted. Anytime you contribute to an account you both share your spouse can take the money, so protect yourself and separate all of the money.
By doing these things you can protect yourself during a divorce. If you have more questions about how to handle your divorce, check out a company like Finocchio & English.
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