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Women and Divorce, Making Smart Financial Decisions

Financial planning, Intimate Relationships, Money, Partners, Relationships, Wealth | March 13th, 2010 1 Comment

Going through a divorce and the financial challenges that come with it is something that nobody wants and that’s accentuated for a woman. When going through divorce proceedings, women more so than men, there is not only the financial future to worry about but also for the family and dealing with the severe emotional aftermath of having to go through the divorce.
Going through a divorce is something that is a difficult time for anyone involved but even more important is the fact that it can create such a messy situation financially. That only compounds and makes things worse.
No matter how smoothly the legal proceedings go there are going to be complications with both the short and long term finances. The best way for a woman to go about things is to make sure to take things just one step at a time and get with someone they can trust to work their way back to a better and brighter future.
After the Divorce
The Beginning Steps
After all of the proceedings are done and everything has been divided you’ll need to get new titles on all of the big items like the following:
•    Houses
•    Any other property
•    Cars
•    Wills
•    Credit cards
•    Wills
•    Insurance
You need to make sure that you get all of these things done first. The reason for this is that you want to be able to avoid any potential liability for any spending or other from your former spouse. Unfortunately it’s not completely uncommon for a “slighted” spouse to rack up charges on a joint credit card to hurt their former mate even though they are hurting themselves too. If you don’t cancel a joint credit card you’re still responsible for half of the money.
This is also going to be true for anything that is related to bankruptcy for either party. If there is the chance that either party could file for bankruptcy make sure that the bankruptcy is done before the divorce, if not soon after. The reason for that is a bankruptcy could affect the financial situations of both parties and that there could be a liability for any defaulted loan.
Along with this same thought it’s important to make sure that any existing retirement funds are amended as well. Whenever possible this should actually be made part of the divorce settlement. This is something that will incorporate a very large part of the financial future for your retirement. Especially if the divorce isn’t amicable you want to make sure that all of these things are settled during the proceedings.
Looking to the Future
Trying to get your finances in order after you’ve gone through a divorce can take you a long time, sometimes years. Things to work through are not just simply adjusting to a new income level and home but also most all women are figuring out how they are going to be able to balance working and childcare.
You might consider that you’re not prepared to go through planning and starting a retirement or savings account until even more years down the line but this is a very big mistake. Even though you possibly don’t have the funds to begin immediately you want to make sure that you meet with someone that can help you through your finances and help you determine some goals and what your next steps should be. It’s always best to start immediately as you’ll thank yourself years down the road.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to silver linings that really aren’t something that applies to divorce but once things are done it will give someone a chance to take a proactive stance towards their future. It’ll take you time to get back into the game and feel like you’re settled into your new life. Be ready and prepare yourself and you can take your situation and ask some hard questions and take a good look at what you want from your life personally and financially and do it.

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