4 Things You Can Do To Protect Yourself Financially During A Divorce
Going through a divorce is difficult for many reasons. It is important that as you go through the divorce process that you are doing everything that you can to protect yourself and especially protect your financial future. Here are some things that you should do to make sure that you are financially protected.
1. Get A Copy Of Your Credit Score
Up to this point there is a good chance that you and your spouse had joint debts. Even things like the electric bill can affect your credit score. So if your spouse has had a hard time with managing finances you could be in trouble too. There bad financial decisions could be affecting your credit score. Although it may be painful and hard, it is important to know where you are at with your credit score, and if need be start doing what you can to repair it. This will come from closing joint credit accounts and paying down any debt you may have together.
2. Get Your Own Mailbox
One of the first things you should do when you are getting a divorce is get your own mailbox. There will be a good deal of financial and legal documents that will be sent to you and you don't want you spouse to have access to those. So long as they are sent to your home that you had together your spouse could open the mail. So get a PO Box as soon as possible.
3. Reorganize Investment, Retirement and Bank Accounts
Recognize that as long as both people's names are on the account they can withdrawal money. If you and your spouse are on bad terms, there is a good chance that they will drain your accounts, simply to get back and you. You need to make sure that you are protecting your wealth and transfer money into an account that is only in your name. In some cases this will be challenging, like on an IRA. But you can have the accounts frozen during the divorce. This will protect your finances.
4. Close All Joint Credit Cards
Lastly, you need to close all joint credit cards. Do no let your spouse spend any more money in your name. There is no telling what they will do, and so long as your name is on those accounts, you will be held responsible for any purchases they make.
By doing these things you can protect yourself financially during a divorce.
For more information concerning divorce legalities, contact businesses like Grafton Law Office.
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