Couples always fight, but sometimes it goes beyond repair and you have no other choice but to get a divorce. A divorce is devastating for you and for your family, but you need to protect your interests to ensure that you finally take back your life. While it’s easy to feel strong emotions like hatred and anger, remember to stay calm, hire a good divorce lawyer and follow these tactics to take back your life when you go through a tough divorce.
Know Your Joint Finances
Knowing your joint finances is important to stay independent in the event that something goes wrong. It also helps you keep your feet firmly planted without worrying about what to do. You should be aware of:
- Any joint accounts
- Joint loan repayments
- Shares in both your names
- Managed funds invested in jointly
You can then take the necessary steps to close down these joint finances, so that no further payments are made into them. This also protects your interests by ensuring that your partner doesn’t stealthily earn the profits from these joint finances without your knowledge.
Keep Your Financial Records Accessible
While you and your partner may have filed your taxes jointly and held several assets together, you must always ensure that your financial records are accessible. This is important when you’re going through a divorce because you need to file your own case in the court. Here are some financial records that you need to have easy access to – always:
- Bank statements
- Loan documents
- Credit score
- Land titles of existing properties
- Tax statements
- Wills
Access to these documents will help your divorce lawyer assess them thoroughly to help you get what is lawfully due to you during this difficult time in your life. Take the time to consider every aspect of your life when it comes to having financial records.
Avoid Signing Documents Without Your Lawyer
Many couples go through negotiations during a divorce, and one party can try to coerce the other into signing documents without properly reviewing them. This is possibly the worst thing you could do because you could end up unknowingly waiving your rights to many things, including custody of your kids, if you have any. Some documents to avoid signing include:
- Child custody and visitation papers
- Details of financial records
- Right waiver agreements
Always consult with your divorce lawyer about any potential documents that you need to sign, and make sure he or she goes through it before you put your name against anything to protect your own interests.
Always Hold On To Purchase Receipts For Big-Ticket Items
Holding on to purchase receipts for big-ticket items is not in anticipation of a divorce, but is good common sense to know how your finances are being managed over a period. And yes, in the event of a divorce, holding onto these receipts certainly comes in handy. Purchase receipts you should hold on to include:
- Car buys
- Antique jewellery
- Paintings and artwork
- Furniture
- Televisions and home theatre systems
These purchase receipts will eventually help bolster your case to hold on to certain items, especially if you bought them prior to your marriage. If you’ll have shared the cost of buying these big-ticket items, you may be able to claim a portion or half of them through these purchase receipts.
Take Charge Of Your Own Personal Accounts
Many couples share email and social media accounts, but this could possibly be the worst thing when you’re going through a divorce. The best thing to do is to create your own personal accounts with a unique password, so that your ex-partner has no access to them. Some personal accounts include:
- Email accounts
- Facebook accounts
- Twitter accounts
By creating your own personal accounts, you are taking back your privacy and building your new life.
Family law can be complex, especially when it comes to a divorce. A good divorce lawyer can help ease your pain in your quest to take back your life.
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