Ending a marriage can have a huge financial impact on a person’s life. Divorce in Connecticut can lead to the loss of assets already owned as well as the assumption of future financial obligations in the form of child support and spousal support. With careful planning, one can minimize the negative effect of divorce on one’s financial status.
One of the first mistakes many people who find they are going to be getting divorced make is to start trying to find ways to hide assets. They think that by squirreling away money and other assets they can keep a little something extra for themselves that doesn’t have to be split with the soon-to-be-ex. This is not a good idea. Most spouses have a pretty good idea what the marital assets are, so if some goes missing, there will be questions to answer and more anger to contend with. It can make the person appear dishonest to the other spouse as well as the judge and can affect the overall outcome of the divorce.
Finances should start being separated as of the split instead of the completion of the divorce. Joint bank and credit card accounts should be closed by both parties, and new individual accounts should be opened. This keeps one spouse from going on a vindictive shopping spree on a joint credit card with the intent of having the bill split later. It also protects one spouse from having his or her bank account wiped out, leaving him or her with no cash to cover expenses. It helps keep everyone honest about their own spending during the divorce process.
The time to start planning for one’s financial future is now. While the divorce is still underway, one should design a financial plan that extends into the future past the divorce. There should be consideration for current income and expenses as well as future income and expenses including child support, spousal support and adjusted housing arrangements.
The most important decision one can make for his or her finances is to hire a knowledgeable divorce attorney. A Connecticut divorce attorney is familiar with steps one should take to help protect one’s financial future. The attorney can guide the client through the divorce process and utilize his or her experience to help the client secure a favorable result.