No matter how you and your partner pooled or split your finances to manage bills, expenses, and discretionary funds, you now have one fund to pull money from. A divorce means you can no longer rely on two incomes in one household to cover living expenses. It’s necessary to acknowledge that divorce comes with a massive financial shift in your life – for better or worse. Here’s how to get through it with help from yourself and your Michigan divorce lawyer.
Practice Financial Honesty
Knowledge is everything in a Michigan divorce and it is essential to evaluate your financial situation and truthfully acknowledge what you have when it comes to both assets and debts. These efforts will include:
- Reviewing bank statements
- Reviewing credit card statements
- Identifying monthly expenses
- Creating a realistic budget
- Adjusting savings, donations, and payments
- Itemizing property
Be Realistic
Your divorce settlement may include spousal support or one lump payment, but it is important to go into the future assuming that you have only yourself and your assets to rely on. If you make major changes now, while you’re working out matters like interim orders and child support, you can rearrange and get used to a new lifestyle without your partner’s financial contributions before your divorce even settles.
Eliminate What You Can’t Afford
Divorce is expensive and it is not always easy to keep everything you once had and take it into your new life. A large mortgage or big car payments can eat away at any budget, making life harder during and after a split. You may feel like you want to keep what is yours in the way of a home or vehicle or keep something out of spite, but marital property division isn’t a one-person decision, and in many cases it’s necessary to make the smart choice to give up the items that keep you out of debt and make it possible to afford a comfortable post-divorce life.
Prepare for the Worst
Just because your divorce settlement tells your ex to pay child support, or your ex is ordered to pay a joint debt, that doesn’t mean there will be follow-through. You could find yourself waiting every month for payments from your ex that does not appear, or creditors may pursue you for a debt your ex was supposed to have paid if you are still named a coborrower.
It isn’t easy to save money at the same time you’re changing your financial life and overall way of life, but if you believe your ex could saddle you with expenses that are not yours, prepare now. Your divorce lawyer will also help you rearrange your debt to ensure the responsible party has that debt in their name alone.
Behave Yourself and Think About the Future
You may want to hide an investment or drain a shared bank account out of anger, but your divorce proceedings are the time to decide what you really want financially from your ex to secure your future. The house? College paid in full for your kids? Your fair share of their retirement accounts? Hire an attorney at Michigan Divorce Help to make your Michigan divorce as easy as possible and help you make wise decisions along the way. Contact us in Mt. Clemens, MI, to schedule your consultation.
This blog post is not a substitute for legal advice.