Plymouth Divorce Financial Protection Attorney
Whether your divorce is a surprise or a long-expected event, there are certain steps you should take at the start of a divorce to protect yourself, your children, and your finances.
Legal Representation and Written Agreements
The first thing you should do, if you haven't already, is hire an attorney right away. No man or woman should enter a Massachusetts courtroom without experienced and competent counsel.
Once you've hired your divorce legal team, don't sign any papers that later cause property and custody battles to be decided against you. If your spouse asks for your signature, respond by telling him or her that your attorney needs to review everything.
Protecting Your Children During Divorce
Once divorce begins, neither parent should take the children from their family home, or out-of-state without agreement by both spouses or permission of the court. If you are dealing with a difficult co-parent, seek a court order prohibiting your children from being taken out of state. If your spouse wants to go, there's nothing you can do about it, but the children should stay.
Divorce Records and Documents
Now is the time to take your personal records and financial documents to an outside location where your spouse may not have access. If there are joint documents such as tax returns, joint bank statements, etc. make a copy for your spouse.
What Should You Do With Personal Property?
Memories and personal mementos – family heirlooms, collections, pictures – that can't be replaced should be taken out of the home. When it comes to joint marital property, videotape or photograph valuable items. Keep a current newspaper in the shot for purposes of proving the date. With a record of these items, you'll be covered if something all of the sudden disappears.
How to Handle Finances When Divorce Begins
Once divorce begins, it's belt tightening time. Two households cannot be managed with the same income that one can. Decide which utilities to cancel. Cutting back on cable and disconnecting an extra phone or facsimile line is a good start. Consider having a yard sale; get rid of extra vehicles, old bicycles, or consumer electronics.
Cancel joint credit cards to clean the slate on joint debt. Safeguard joint bank accounts so that an angry spouse doesn't withdraw the funds. Better yet, consider taking half from each account which shows you're being fair while, at the same time, putting your spouse on notice that you will not ruin him or her financially.
Stop contributing to your retirement accounts. Since your spouse will most likely be awarded half of its value, ask your employer for the forms that will stop your regular contributions – for now.
We Have Handled Hundreds of Cases
Over the course of several years, our attorneys have heard many stories. We have seen couples fighting over photo albums, false allegations of abuse to gain a strategic advantage in custody cases, and we could go on and on. When we advise our clients, we carefully take into account the details of the specific situation.
Learn More With a Free, No-Obligation Consultation
To make an appointment, call (800) 299-DIVORCE or contact us online to schedule a meeting in any of our local offices.
