While adjusting to your decision to divorce your spouse, you may feel at a loss regarding what to handle first. Because you have substantial assets, focus on protecting those for now.
Safeguarding your assets becomes a top priority for a financially stable post-divorce life. Learn which steps are the most essential.
Name your assets
Make a list of all the assets you and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse have. Specify which are yours, which belong to your spouse and which you share. With your personal assets, get official documents that prove your ownership.
Gather physical financial statements
As you comb through your investments, bank accounts, retirement accounts, brokerage firm statements and other personal assets, print out physical copies of statements and keep them in a personal file. It is good to hide this file and keep its existence to yourself, as you do not want to risk your spouse “accidentally” locking you out of your online accounts during your divorce and preventing you from accessing electronic documents.
Shift money into a personal account
Besides divorcing spouses locking each other out of online accounts, they also lock each other out of bank accounts. If you and your wife or husband have a joint bank account, you have the right to shift specific liquid assets into a personal account. Only shift assets that you have a legal right to, and only enough to cover your bills and necessities during the divorce. It costs substantial time and money to receive temporary alimony if you find yourself unable to access a joint bank account.
You worked hard for your assets, and you should protect them. The proactive approach can help you avoid a disaster should the situation take a turn for the worse in your split.
