Suppose you have been reading the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC's series of articles on achieving a successful divorce outcome. In that case, you are likely that you have either filed for Divorce already or are at the very least strongly considering doing so.
If you find yourself at this stage, I think this blog post will be especially worthwhile to review. The reason being is that today's blog will cover essential items that you should bear in mind and work on at the outset of your divorce case.
Start to think about life without your spouse.
If you don't already, I believe that opening up a credit card account in your name can be vital for you. I'm not telling you to open up a credit card in your name and to ring up many purchases and incur a ton of debt during your Divorce. If this is something that you do, then the judge and your spouse will not be happy with you whatsoever.
If you are the spouse who has relied on your soon-to-be ex-spouse for financial support, then it is possible that you do not have any credit history of your own. This can be dangerous if you want to take out a loan in the future, such as a mortgage.
Unfortunately, a zero credit score can indicate that you are not creditworthy and that money should not be loaned to you. Like this or not, there is merit to this argument. A credit card where you make small purchases and pay the bill in full each month can begin to build your credit score.
Finally, you should open up a bank account in your name and begin to deposit small sums of money so that the report can be maintained without any unnecessary fees accumulating. There is no magic response to this action other than beginning to gear your mind towards living as a single person.
Trust, but verify: Request a copy of your credit report
You may trust your spouse entirely and are getting this Divorce for other reasons altogether. They may have told you that no separate bank accounts or lines of credit, or debts exist in their name.
However, this does not mean that you should trust their assurances and do nothing to make sure that this is, in fact, the case. You must verify this information for your financial well-being.
An excellent way to verify the assurance you received from your spouse is to request a copy of your credit report. A free credit report is available for you to request once a year from the "Big Three" credit reporting companies.
Your credit report contains all open accounts in your name, the terms of previous lenders you borrowed from, and a history of the payments you made. Finally, your credit report will tell how many times someone has inquired about your credit report or score.
A heightened activity level that you were previously unaware of may indicate that your spouse was inquiring about a loan in your name without your knowledge or permission.
Budget- assign a task to every dollar that comes into your bank account
More than an attorney writing this section, this will sound like a financial planner/adviser. Still, if you can assign each dollar a job duty at the beginning of each month, you will likely find that you have more money available to you than you would have previously thought.
Remember, your income will decrease as a result of your being in a divorce. If you can learn exactly where each dollar of your income is spent and how to maximize your earnings, you will have a better chance to achieve financial success during the Divorce.
Your divorce attorney is ostensibly charging you money for assisting you in your Divorce. While this bill will not always be with you in your life, if you can manage to find money to "Cash flow" a lawyer, then you will have less to dig out from once your Divorce has been completed.
How to prove that something is your separate property?
In a recent case that I was handling for a client, our client owned a condominium near Lake Travis. In hiring us to represent him for his Divorce, our client's most clear-cut goal was to show his court that the condo was his separate property.
His rationale for that position was that the condo was purchased out of the funds from a personal injury settlement and therefore is separate property. The apartment, valued at nearly $200,000, stood as a significant financial component to his case. If a judge found the condo to be community property, he would likely have to pay his soon-to-be ex-spouse half of the value of the apartment in terms of her share of the equity in the home.
Our client struggled to prove his point because he was never able to provide documentation to me showing the condo was purchased directly with the personal injury settlement money. He provided me with documents that he created showing where the money came from, but no closing documents, bank transaction details, or anything similar could be provided to me.
Due to this inability to show just where the money came from to purchase the condo, our client conceded mediation to offer some money as a settlement to his wife for his being able to keep the apartment. While she did accept, he most likely should not have had to pay her any money. His wife never spent much time in the condo, and proper record keeping should have shown that he owned the property separately.
Questions on being prepared financially for a divorce? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC
If you have any questions on how to best prepare for Divorce, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. Our licensed family law attorneys are available six days a week to meet with you and answer any questions you may have. Thank you for reading and participating in our three-part series on achieving a successful divorce.
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Other Articles you may be interested in:
- Divorce when economic times are tough
- How to achieve a successful divorce from a financial perspective, Part Two
- How to achieve a successful divorce from a financial perspective
- How a mortgage is handled in a Texas Divorce
- Should I Hide Money from my Spouse to Get Ready for my Texas Divorce?
- Why is Separate Property Important and How to Keep it Separate in a Texas Divorce?
- What Wikipedia Can't Tell you About Texas Divorce and Marital Property Division
- Texas Divorce Property Division Enforcement
- Separate Property in a Texas Divorce?
- Does it Matter Whose Name is on Title or Deed of Property in a Divorce in Texas?
- Is Social Security Considered Separate Property in a Texas Divorce
- Business Owners and Business Assets in a Texas Divorce
- What to do when your divorce decree does not include a marital asset?
Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas Divorce Lawyers
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding Divorce, it's essential to speak with one of our Houston, TX Child Divorce Lawyers right away to protect your rights.
Our Divorce lawyers in Spring, TX, are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, handles Divorce cases in Houston, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County.
