What is the top thing to think about after you’ve decided to get divorced? Number one, your finances. Now is not the time for panic, now is the time for you to be at your most thoughtful about your financial future and that of your family. Whether you decided to leave the finances to your soon to be ex no longer matters, and you have to move on from that decision you made when you were in love. Now is the time for action. Grab every piece of financial document paperwork you can find. If it has numbers on it, scan it, copy it and put it in a file. Get a binder and if you’ve copied the documents put them in that binder and label exactly what each page is. Is it an IRA? A 401K account? A brokerage account? The mortgage statement? As I mentioned previously if it has numbers on it, copy it.
Why is this important you might be asking? You don’t want to wait until your ex decides to give you the paperwork because they may stall and make it difficult for you to even know what you might be entitled to. When it comes to money sometimes there is no end to a person’s cruelty. They may deny the existence of any relevant paperwork especially if you have no clue that it ever existed. It could potentially be a costly mistake if your ex knows of an account that you do not and it’s worth thousands of dollars that could potentially be left out of the divorce decree. If you have the paperwork already in hand it will save you countless amounts of dollars and heartache getting your attorney to ask his attorney for the information.
Even if you don’t know what that piece of paper with numbers on it is, it’s ok, just get it. If you don’t end up needing it at least you were covered. Don’t think of this time as devious, think of it as protecting yours and your children’s future interests because you just never know what might happen down the road. Many people start out with the belief that since everything is good right now that things will be good in the future. Since this is a good way to look at life it is not the only outcome and protecting yourself is guaranteeing that you did everything in your power for that protection.
