Maintaining Healthy Finances During & After Divorce
August 10, 2018 – Polly Tatum
Focus On The Future
First, take stock of your finances.
The first step toward healthy finances is knowing where you stand financially. Run a credit report, and talk to your spouse about their salary and employee benefits. Gather documentation on anything and everything related to your finances. Knowing where you stand is important in the beginning stages of divorce.
Stay on top of bills.
This may take some coordinating with your spouse. Bills can easily go unpaid when one spouse believes the other will pay them, either out of spite or lack of communication. Make sure you and your spouse have a plan for who will pay what bills and when. Write it out if you need to. Maintaining healthy finances will take open communication between you and your spouse, but it’s worth it.
Don’t spend a thousand to get a thousand.
Resist the urge to immediately hire a divorce attorney to take your divorce to court. While you can hire an attorney to get you what you want, you could end up paying that lawyer $1,000 in legal fees to get you a $1,000 asset. Don’t underestimate how much it may cost to get you what you want. Consider mediation as an economical alternative to courtroom litigation. This will require you work hard with your spouse on finding an agreement, but it can save you thousands.
Prepare yourself for change, and learn how to make that change work.
You may experience a change in your financial status after divorce. Massachusetts has laws in place to help ensure an easier transition to self-sufficiency, but you may still need to learn to budget better. Get an idea of what you may pay or receive in alimony and child support. How much will you have to live off of? Is it less or more than you have now? If it is less, you may have to make some changes. Do what you can now to prepare for those changes to minimize the effect they will have on you and your children.
Speak with an experienced Massachusetts divorce mediator if you are concerned about having healthy finances during and after your divorce. A little extra planning and preparation now can help ensure you have a solid financial future.
Do you have questions about handling your finances during and after divorce?
Mediation Advantage Services is here to help.
Law Office of Polly Tatum is highly experienced in Massachusetts family law and can help you and your spouse protect your finances and plan for your financial futures.
Based in historic Worcester with a satellite office in Northboro, MA, our firm serves all cities and towns throughout Massachusetts and Worcester County including, Auburn, Paxton, Leicester, Sutton, Grafton, Shrewsbury, Westboro, Northboro, Southboro, Holden, Sterling, Princeton, Worcester, Charlton, Millbury, Dudley, Spencer, Brookfield, Sudbury, Natick, Framingham, Hopkinton, Milford, Blackstone, Leominster, Fitchburg, Acton, Jefferson, Barre, Oakham, Cambridge, Newton, Marlboro, Lancaster, Bolton, and Hudson.
Call our office at (508) 795-1557(508) 795-1557 fill out our online form, or email us at info@mediationadvantage.com today to schedule your Complimentary Mediation Success Planning Session. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter or download our free e-book for more information regarding divorce in Massachusetts.
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