4 Problems to Avoid… If You Are Headed for Divorce
The same basic problems lead to most of the financial mistakes people make when going through a divorce. These errors can cost you thousands of dollars and haunt you for years. Watch out for these problems and use the solutions below to avoid them altogether.
The Problems
- Waiting To Do Anything – For a number of reasons, people put off the financial decisions of divorce. While your attention may be elsewhere, you still have to reach a fair settlement and separate your financial life from your ex-spouse.
- Not Knowing What To Do – Most people don’t have a clue what to do when they think they may wind up in divorce. Why would they? You don’t plan to get a divorce and there is no divorce class in high school. So, you turn to friends and family for advice. However, most of them don’t know what to do and unknowingly wind up giving you bad advice.
- Doing the Wrong Things – After putting off financial decisions, not knowing what to do, and getting bad advice, is it any wonder most people do exactly the wrong thing? Far from solving problems, you could very likely make your situation worse.
- Refusing to Get Help – Divorce is complex. It is nearly impossible for anyone to understand the combination of laws, tax codes, assets, debt, credit scoring, lending, and investing. Yet, that is exactly what is required to successfully reach and properly implement a fair and equitable financial settlement with your ex-spouse.
The Solutions
- Don’t Wait – If you think divorce is even a possibility, you must act immediately. The financial aspects of divorce won’t go away and will get worse with time.
- Educate Yourself – Learn about the divorce process and divorce finance. If you don’t wind up in divorce, you will at least have a better understanding of your own finances.
- Make A Plan – What you need to do depends on your unique situation. Don’t do anything until you completely understand your risks, your options, and the implications of each decision. Next, make a detailed plan to separate your finances from your spouse.
- Get Help – The reality is that you need help from specialists including an expert in divorce finance. Lawyers focus on the law, CPAs focus on taxes, and financial advisors focus on investments. A divorce finance specialist provides detailed step-by-step tasks to identify risks, avoid costly mistakes and completely separate your financial lives.
Divorce is serious business and requires serious attention. Don’t wait, get informed, and get help.
