Before you begin your divorce process, attached are five simple financial tips that can make your divorce a bit easier.

Tip # 1

Be sure to copy all of your legal documents and gather all of your financial information that you have accumulated over the duration of the marriage

First you will need to get a hold of all your finances like never before.  Whether you are a financial pro or whether you have not worked outside the home in years.  You will need to know everything possible in regards to your finances for the divorce.  One reason it is so critical to do this before the divorce process begins is that this information can often disappear once the divorcing begins.  It can become more difficult to find regardless of the cause or circumstances.  How can you know or plan for what to divide if you don’t know what you currently have?

Tip # 2

Begin to seek out expert advice to help you figure out what is next

Some of the financial information you’ve collected above you can start establishing your priorities. This may not sound like a financial step on the face of it but when you sit down and write the things that you’d like to have from your marriage, or try to envision what you might like or need in order to carry on into the future – these can and will actually be translated into numbers.  Do you think you and the children want to stay in the same neighborhood or house?  Do you want to hold onto most or all of your pension? If these are your priorities they will have a range of dollar signs eventually attached to them.

Tip # 3

Protect your Credit

Order a copy of your credit report early from all three reporting agencies: This is very important since you can now have this as a base line to know where you stand now, at the end of your marriage.  This way you’d be able to see whether any new unauthorized debt is being added in your name only and if you have no credit in your own name now, you may want to apply for a credit card.  To begin building your own credit now may be far easier while still married than after, all things being equal, especially if you have not been the primary breadwinner.

Tip # 4

Check up on your Insurance
Get to know the details of all the kinds of insurance that helps to protect your family.

Just the sheer number of types of insurance may be overwhelming, but take it one step at a time.  The goal is to get your hands around what coverage’s your family has and needs.  What are your policy numbers deductibles, limits, premiums?  Life, car, medical, dental, home-owners, renters, flood, insurance and the list goes on and on.  How important it is to keep your insurance related financial issues in order can not be over emphasized.   One example: On your life insurance policies, it’s really quite important that you locate and know now about who are the owners of the insurance – you, your wife/husband?  A family trust, your spouse, your children?  Knowing this now is essential  if for no other reason, you’ll now have this on your radar.

Tip # 5

Be sure to have your taxes prepared in a way that you will be comfortable for sometime

If it is tax season and you are preparing for a divorce, this may be notice that you should proceed with caution.  Be sure to contact your accountant or financial adviser and have him or her advise you not only the possible tax savings now that married jointly filing couples enjoy, but also on the potential future liability you could face in should the returns be found deficient.   Know that on returns where you sign jointly, you will be jointly held responsible.  This is most often the case whether or not you have any first hand knowledge of the all the financial information on your return.
As always, the best offense is a good defense and to arm you with knowledge is often the best first step in trying to achieve an equitable, fair outcome.  By trying to anticipate problems ahead of time you may avoid serious financial issues.  Be sure to get good advice throughout your entire process starting as early as possible in the process.

Now that you have a few pointers to remember during your divorce process, now is the time to decide how you want to go about your divorce.  There are several ways that you choose from.  These days many people are choosing to do there own divorce online.  This way not only saves you time but can also save you a lot of money as well.  You can begin this specific state down-loadable divorce process by simply going to www.mydivorcedocuments.com today.