Divorce and Its Financial Impact - How to Avoid Financial Ruin

A divorce can be devastating and negatively impact both spouses. Whether you are the husband or woman, it is likely that you will experience some financial problems after a divorce. If your monetary resources are not managed properly, the situation can be intensified and made even worse. It is important to remember that a divorce can cause more than just emotional damage, in some instances it can lead to financial devastation. Here are a few tips that will assist you avoid some of the most common challenges and allow you to thrive following a divorce:

1. Before you file for divorce make sure that it is really, truly your most fitting choice and that reconciliation and constructing a prosperous future is simply not a possibility. Consider not just the emotional effects but also the economic and financial conditions for your post-divorce life. Financial loss can be the result if you don't carefully consider your true situation post-divorce.
2. If you have endured ill-treatment from your partner such as verbal, physical, and mental abuse, you should document those specific events for possible use in your court case. These events can, in certain jurisdictions, make a meaningful difference in the result of your divorce case. If you have children and are likely to get primary custody it is your right and obligation to seek and acquire child support to help handle the expenses of rearing children.

3. Understand the importance of objectively considering your post-divorce circumstances, especially your financial position. Make a spreadsheet and realistically consider how much money you will need every month to cover your expenses. This may require making some assumptions, like how much your housing and utility expenses will be in a new place of residence. Then compare these figures to your typical monthly income, as well as any child support you expect to have, and compare your monthly income with your monthly expenses.
4. It is very common for individuals to require lifestyle alterations after a divorce in order to financially survive. One helpful thing to do when preparing for a divorce is to begin saving cash in a bank account in which you are the sole account holder (in other words, your spouse cannot empty the account). This money can be of great assistance during the divorce process if you find yourself lacking money. That is not to say you should "hide" the money, you should let your lawyerknow of its existence and never deny that you have it.
5. If feasible you want to reduce credit card debt and other financial obligations prior to divorce. It is also crucial to establish your own credit, if you don't have credit available to you already. As I mentioned above, you want to open your own savings accounts so you do not have to worry about your spouse and emptying out all of the accounts unexpectedly and leaving you without any available cash.
6. A detailed plan created prior to going after a divorce case is extremely helpful in addressing and avoiding any prolonged financial problems. If your standard of living is going to go down after the divorce, you want to discover this as early in the process as possible so that you can plan and act accordingly. Talk to divorced friends who have been through the situation and can advise you as to how to best cope with the post-divorce finances.
7. Find out as much as you can about the assets that you and your partner own. If you are the partner who has facilitated the finances during the marriage, great. If are not, this will call for some additional study on your part. In order to get a fair property division in your divorce case you will need to be very familiar with what assets exist. This is an area where a qualified family lawyer can be of extremely helpful.
8. If you are granted land in the property division, make sure that any necessary deed transfers are completed along with your divorce. It is not sufficient that your divorce ruling says that you're awarded the land, there must also be a deed, registered with the correct authorities, which reflects your sole ownership of that house.

Joseph Carter wrote this article on behalf of www.california-divorce-info.com, a California Divorce Info website for those in California who need information on divorce. For a free 55-page Divorce and Custody Resource ebook go to www.California-Divorce-Info.com.