Sad as nowadays long time marriages easily break up. The rate of divorce among senior couples has recently doubled and research has shown that nowadays divorces for couples with over fifty years of age accounts for twenty five percent of break ups. It can happen to any couple, after spending decades of years together saving and investing, financial fallout in such a divorce is quite high. It is therefore essential to find ways to safeguard your assets and money in case your marriage is about to face a divorce. As much as you will be overwhelmed by emotions of the breaking up of your many years of marriage, you should be well prepared when it happens so that you ensure the safety of your long time savings and investments. Following are a few things that you should do in preparation:
Hire experienced divorce attorney who will guide you through a collaborative divorce rather than litigation. This way you and your spouse can negotiate a fair solution to your disputes and financial questions since the process is well structured rather than having the court decide. You should also try to find more information about divorce state laws from friends and websites with such information so as to know what to do.
Open personal accounts to establish your own credit history in case you later need a loan or mortgage, during and after divorce . Also freeze your joint bank accounts and credit card accounts to avoid being responsible for buying sprees by your former spouse to-be. One more thing you should not forget after freezing the joint accounts is breaking the ties of insurance policies and the like. You should ensure that your car insurance policies and other insurances are changed to reflect your new solo status.
Other things to do when preparing for your divorce include sorting out your mortgage and rent payments. You should make arrangements with your spouse about who keeps the house or sell it to cut the shared responsibility. Also get ready to share retirement accounts. Pension funds are legally considered marital property and hence subject to negotiation even though only your name appears on pension and retirement schemes.
Finally, after settling your divorce, you should not forget changing your will. You can also change it as you prepare for the divorce and adjust it accordingly. Although in most states former spouses are automatically excluded from receiving under the will and serving as trustees, it is wise to adjust your will after settling the divorce to avoid ugly, unexpected situation and indeed confusion, when the time comes.
