BEING FINANCIALLY DISORGANIZED – I THOUGHT YOU PAID THE BILL (2nd Part of a Series)
It is not uncommon for one person in the marriage to be the one who handles the household finances. Regardless of the excuse, one person may be more or less clueless about the financial details involved with running the household. Maybe that’s one of the reasons for the divorce in the first place but at this point ignorance will cost you.
When going through a divorce, you’ll need to disclose your financial situation in a financial statement required by the court. You’ll need to know where all that cash flow goes and you’ll be asked to provide details about things you probably haven’t even bothered to look at in a long time. Most folks are too busy to prepare or follow a budget or household spending plan but now you’ll need to know about payroll deductions, household expenses, transportation costs, daycare and related expenses for your kids.
Save yourself the time, money and aggravation and get copies of all your relevant papers. This includes credit card statements, recurring bills, mortgage details, work-related benefits, income taxes, pay stubs and statements for any investments, savings or retirement accounts.
While it is tempting to drop a box filled with papers on your attorney or mediator’s desk and have someone else sort through this, it will end up costing you now in the form of fees and later in the form of a poor settlement. Ignorance is certainly not bliss in this regard.
You should take the time to understand where your cash flow goes, track it with a spreadsheet or program and be prepared to decide what will stay and what will go when you begin your new “single” life.
If you’ve moved out of the house, you may need to call your financial service providers to get copies or arrange to receive duplicate statements going forward. And since you’ve moved out you’ll need to make sure that your mail is secure. Consider one of those secure mail drop locations. And update your passwords for any online accounts. And avoid the aggravation of one spouse accusing the other of running up the credit cards by calling the card provider and temporarily freezing the account for any new activity on joint cards – by agreement with your spouse, of course – and dropping any authorized user status on other individual cards.
No one will care more about your money now or in the future but you so take the time to get organized. After you have gathered the information, assemble your financial team. Don’t simply rely on your Boston divorce attorney. There are too many tax, insurance and financial issues that will need to be addressed and it’s best to get expert advice from those professionals. With proper information you and your financial team (including an accountant, financial planner and insurance agent) will be in a better position to evaluate your options and make a more informed decision.
To help organize yourself, consider the tools available as part of your free Divorce Shield plan.
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