No divorce is perfect, and no divorce is without its complications. You have to sever ties with your spouse, and that might also mean losing friends or alienating family members. Despite all that, you must continue and work toward dividing your assets. This helps secure your financial future.
There are several things you can do to go through the divorce process more easily. For example, reviewing your expenses and financial obligations is helpful. Before you ever sign a divorce decree, make sure you know how much money you have, will have and need to be secure. Know your income sources and calculate your new expenses. Although you may have had a budget before, you need to recalculate how much everything costs when you live on your own.
Another thing that can help you is if you start thinking about your career path. If you stayed home and didn’t work while you were married, it’s time to start considering where you’ll work and what career you want to have. You need to think about the long-term goals you have for your career early on. On top of that, you need to have an idea of whether or not you need to go through continued education, because alimony could help you cover some of those expenses.
Finally, think about your family home. Both of you may want it, or perhaps neither of you does. Houses cost a lot of money to maintain, especially for a single person. Consider selling or downsizing to save yourself the financial headache. Once you and your spouse work out what you want out of your marriage, your attorneys can help you negotiate a settlement for divorce.
Source: Entrepreneur, “5 Essential Tips for Financial Planning After Divorce,” Andrea Murad, accessed March 24, 2017
