The grief that comes with divorce can be profound, whether you’ve been blindsided by infidelity or fallen out of love. This period comes with emotional grieving, anger, and insecurity, no matter how amicable the split was.
And with the pain comes the need to put yourself together long enough to make critical financial decisions that won’t derail your entire life. All the pain and betrayal may lead to highly emotional decision-making, leading to terrible decisions that are harmful to your finances.
How about Divorce Financial Planning: 7 Things To Know
As you face your divorce, take the necessary steps to ensure that you’re financially prepared. You will need to research financial planning near me and ensure you know all your options. Here’s what you need to know regarding divorce financial planning.
You May Need A Forensic Accountant
Sometimes, spouses try to keep more than their fair share of assets during divorce through overseas accounts, trusts, or even transferring assets to trusted individuals. In some cases, the couple’s financial situations are more complicated, so it may be time to hire a forensic accountant.
A divorce lawyer, like Osbourne Pinner, has access to reputable forensic accountants. Don’t hesitate to share your concerns with them to ease your worry about your divorce.
A forensic accountant may help you find hidden assets to ensure you don’t lose anything rightfully yours. You may also find other assets you didn’t know about, such as property needed during property division in divorce.
Avoid Rushing The Process
Since the divorce process can be daunting, most couples may want to rush through it and finish it as fast as possible. But the problem with a rushed divorce is that the more vulnerable spouse may get an unfair amount of assets.
Rushing things to get it over and done with can leave you shortchanged. Since a life-changing event, such as divorce, can put you in a vulnerable state, your emotions can get in the way and cloud your judgment. Often, you won’t realize the weight of a wrong decision until it comes biting you in your behind. It would be best to carefully weigh things and make decisions when you have a clear head. Things take time. Even your emotional wounds will heal in time; you need to trust the process and the people you hired to handle things for you.
If one spouse desires to quickly finalize the process, the other party may use this to convince them to settle for less. As a result, you may need to go through the proper channels to locate and value every asset.
You May Need To Combine A Complete Financial Inventory
Take your time and go through your assets, liabilities, ongoing expenses, and income, then compile them, as it’s a requirement that needs to be provided by both parties. Next, the court will decide what each party gets to take away.
The inventory division will depend on the state laws surrounding marital properties and assets. This division will ensure that both parties get their rightful shares.
The best divorce websites offer forms that are comparable to the forms that a lawyer could use while completing your divorce paperwork. You can find the best forms for your situation by checking these out.
Have Enough Knowledge Of All Marital Debts
You must be on top of your finances and be aware of any marital debt accumulated over time. You can get an attorney to help you order and review your spouse’s credit report containing hidden debts such as credit cards, student loans, auto, personal loans, or mortgage debts.
In addition, you can inquire about hidden business liabilities that may be hard to acquire but are equally important. Getting sufficient knowledge of the debts acquired can help prevent creditors from coming after you for debts you didn’t know about.
You May Need To Formulate A Short-Term Financial Plan
During the divorce process, you may not access your financials except to pay the main bills. As a result, you may need to be financially prepared for any unforeseen expenses you may inquire about during the entire process.
By coming up with a short-term financial plan, you’ll be able to communicate with your ex-spouse to get everything you need and cover additional costs without any worries.
Once your divorce is final, you must set things in order in your new life. This includes assessing your post-divorce income, setting a new household budget, discussing with your kids your new setup, and how each family member can contribute to stretch things and save.
Avoid Misvaluing Marital Assets
Different assets vary in value, incredibly complex ones such as a business. As a result, you may need to consult a professional who’ll get you a valuation of your assets and ensure you get your fair share.
Remember to factor in additional costs from some assets and get the proper settlement. For instance, if you are entitled to your house, you may need to add the maintenance costs you may incur.
Be Open To Mediation Or Arbitration
The court process of litigating a divorce can be long and stressful for both couples. You can consider two types of alternative dispute resolution: mediation or arbitration. These ways will help you avoid spending a lot of time, incurring expenses, and the added stress of the court process.
With mediation, you can retain more control over financial outcomes that you may need to give up in court.
Divorce Financial Planning
The financial process of a divorce isn’t easy. It isn’t too complicated an asset. As a result, you’ll need a financial plan to protect against unfairness during the divorce process. And as you chase the more extensive inventory, don’t forget more minor things.
You’ll need to be realistic about things like pets, furniture, dishes, and artwork, amongst others, as it isn’t worth isn’t legal fees over them. Though the process may be overwhelming, take things one step at a time and keep a clear head to ensure you’re equipped to face your new life moving forward.