Three Steps Toward Financial Health During Divorce

The best time to protect your financial health during divorce is before you file. If you do not have that luxury, there are steps you can take to ensure financial stability as you move through and out of the Texas divorce process.

As with many issues in divorce, being responsive is more useful than being reactive. Understanding your finances is the first step to managing your financial condition as you make agreements to divide assets and pay off debt. Consider these points:

• Take action: Open new bank accounts in your name only, and close all joint accounts immediately. If your spouse is going to keep using a joint credit card, ensure in writing that your name is removed immediately from the account. Personally take charge of making sure these steps happen. While your spouse may seem friendly, there is no need for trust, or distrust, if you handle your arrangements on your own.

• Obtain a credit report: Prior to divorce, it is essential to establish credit in your own name. Your credit rating is a valuable asset down the road when you are looking for a new home or want to refinance the home you have. Review your report carefully for joint accounts or credit lines you may have forgotten. Close all joint accounts and address any credit problems as soon as possible.

• Budget: Take a hard look at your bottom line. Document your debt and determine the money you need to support a realistic lifestyle. Divorce often requires a reduction in your style of living, and purchases may have to be curtailed and debt may have to be paid off.

Divorce is a frustrating, often emotional process. Making a clean start means knowing your numbers upfront and getting experienced legal help to maintain your financial health into the future.