5 Ways You Should Prepare For A Divorce When You Make Less Money Than Your Spouse

Divorce is a stressful and often confusing time. If you make less money than your spouse, you are likely to suffer more. Here are 5 ways you can prepare to protect yourself in a divorce. 

Gather Financial Information

Before you initiate a divorce, or as soon as you know your spouse intends to, write down all of your financial information. This should include the numbers of all accounts, passwords for all online accounts and investments, and information about automatic deposits. 

This information often becomes hard to get after divorce proceedings begin, so make sure you have it ready.

Save Money

It is important that you put some money away to prepare for a divorce. This is especially true if the majority of your household expenses are covered by your spouse's income. 

Begin by opening a checking account in your name only at a different bank than the one you use for your joint accounts. Put money in the account whenever you can. This will be your source of funds if your spouse fights any financial obligations. 

You should also open a credit card in your own name. If your spouse makes more money than you do, open this account before divorce proceedings begin. You want their income to be considered when you are offered a credit limit and percentage rate. 

Get a Private Mailing Address

You may be moving to a different home before the divorce proceeds. Be sure you give your attorney Law Office of Alan L Ruder, this address so all private correspondence will be sent there. 

If you are staying in your marital home, open up a PO Box so you are the only one with access to your mail. 

Monitor Your Credit

Check out your credit report to make sure everything looks right to you. Sometimes people file for divorce only to discover debt they never knew existed. If your spouse opened a credit card for gambling money or took out a loan to give cash to a significant other, you could end up being partially responsible for it. 

Monitoring your credit will also allow you to catch it if your spouse attempts to open credit in your name. 

Close all joint accounts once divorce proceedings have begun. 

Update Paperwork

Consider any paperwork that lists your spouse as a beneficiary or decision maker. If you die before your divorce is final, your spouse will have a claim on these accounts unless you specify otherwise. Change the beneficiary on any retirement accounts or savings accounts. 

You are also going to want to change your will so that your spouse will not inherit your property, and you will want to change your living will if you don't want them to be able to make medical decisions for you. 

Your divorce may be a simple and friendly affair, or it may be rocky. Be prepared for it to begin one way and end another. It makes sense to take steps to protect yourself from any foreseeable complications as you go through your divorce.

Share