10 Divorce Financial Tips to Help You Now and for the Rest of Your Life

1. Create a Budget: Take into account how much you will be making on one income and how much you will need for expenses in order to avoid costly debt. 
2. Organize Your Financial Documents: Reviewing bank statements and bills will help you understand the finances you will be dealing with after divorce since expense will no longer be shared. 
3. Freeze Joint Accounts: Limit the risk of your spouse incurring new debt that you may be partially responsible for by consulting a divorce lawyer to help freeze your joint accounts. 
4. Set up Individual Accounts: Create new accounts in your name to begin building individual credit. 
5. Continue or Begin Saving: Set aside some money to help you adjust to a new lifestyle. 
6. Plan for Your Retirement: Avoid the temptation to cash in a 401(k). Even though you may need the cash to help now the penalties and taxes may overshadow the immediate benefit. 
7. Keep Important Records: Documents such as a passport, 401(k) plan, tax returns, birth certificate and will should be kept safe and accessible. 
8. Find Out if your Marriage Agreement is Valid: Consult a divorce attorney if you made a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement to determine if it is valid and how the divorce court may view the agreement. 
9. Be Aware of Possible Hidden Assets: A divorce lawyer can help you determine if your spouse may be hiding assets in order to keep them out of the asset division process.
10. Have a Backup Plan: Since not every outcome goes as expected try to have a plan to fall back on.

A divorce attorney can further explain property division laws and how your case may be affected. We can connect you to advocates who specialize in helping couples facing divorce make wise financial and legal decisions.

We are not accountants or attorneys and strongly recommend that you contact and experienced professional before making any tax and legal decisions.