Getting Ready for Divorce in 2017 in Texas: Part Two of a Two Part Series

This blog post is second in an installment of two articles intended to
provide some assistance to people who are planning for a divorce in the
near future. Part One of the series provided advice in regard to subjects
ranging from:

1. finances to
2. organizational techniques to your
3. health.

In Part Two we will discuss additional pieces of advice in regard to your
finances as well as strategic decision-making techniques that will stand
to benefit you both now and later in your
divorce.

Change your Passwords and PIN numbers

This is a piece of advice that isn’t hard to implement, but it can
be tedious. However- if you care about your security and want peace of
mind when it comes to your life I would recommend you follow it.

Most of us have two or even one password that we use for bank account access,
email and other online applications.

If you plan on filing for a
divorce it is possible that your spouse (now your soon to be ex-spouse) may consider
your private information to be fair game in terms of access. It is a smart
decision to change passwords to your:

1. online accounts
2. banks
3. retirement accounts
4. social media, etc.

My advice would be to not use the tried and true method of “dog name
plus sequential numbers” as your password either.

Use a random assortment of numbers, letters and symbols and create a new
password for each website you need access to.

Open up a separate E-Mail Account

How will you remember all those passwords, you may be asking? It would
not hurt to create a new email address (one your spouse does not know
about) to store information and communicate with your
Texas divorce lawyer on.

If you and your spouse have email addresses or cell phones that allow mutual
access “to the cloud” it would make sense to remove any sensitive
information you have in the cloud and to store it in a separate account.

That’s not to say that your spouse can never get access to it (if,
for instance, she was to serve you with discovery during the divorce)
but it offers you a more secure location to proceed from.

Protect your Credit and Request a Credit Report

A lot of us have credit cards that bear our name only but that our spouse
is an authorized user of. An authorized user means that the person designated
as such can use the card for purchases but is not responsible to the lender
for the debts.

If this seems like a “having your cake and eating it to” type
set up that’s because it is. Once you have hired a
Houston divorce attorney and your divorce is imminent it is a good idea to remove your spouse as
an authorized user on any credit card.

Additionally, it would serve you well to request a copy of your credit
score and credit history at the outset of your
Texas divorce. There are ways to make this request that doesn’t cost you any money
and the benefit to doing so can be enormous.

For instance, many clients at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC have come to
learn that your spouse had been using their name and credit to take out
loans, open up credit card accounts and do other financial activity with
their knowledge.

This is good to know sooner rather than later because any debts incurred
in your name to benefit another person should not be your responsibility.
However- if you only become aware of the debt after the divorce is completed
it will be much more difficult to address this situation.

Update your beneficiaries and have a new Will drafted

If you are married it is likely that your spouse is the person named as
a beneficiary on financial assets ranging from life insurance policies
to investment accounts. Assuming that you do not want your soon to be
ex-spouse to inherit these items upon your passing away, it is a good
practice to review any documents that name your spouse as the beneficiary
and to update those immediately.

The same concept applies to your Will. If you have a Will it is likely
that your spouse stands to inherit much of your estate from you whenever
the time is that you pass away.

Update your will to reflect the desired recipients of property and assets
that you will own after the divorce is finalized. If you do not have a
Will our advice is to have one drafted. This is important because if you
die without a Will before the divorce is finalized your spouse stands
to inherit most of your estate.

I will take this opportunity to note that the attorneys with the Law Office
of Bryan Fagan are able to assist clients with the drafting of their Wills.
If this is a service you are interested in do not hesitate to contact
our office today to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys
to learn more about the process and to get the ball rolling.

Have a specific plan when it comes to custody of your children

Like most parents, you probably have concerns regarding your children as
you begin to contemplate a divorce. Worrying, however, does not accomplish
anything. Planning does.

Take steps to put a plan into action for getting what you want in a custody
arrangement for your children. It is not enough to believe you are the
“better parent” or that your spouse is “unfit”
in some particular way. Building a case for custody is no different than
building a case for anything else. Planning your testimony, collecting
relevant documents and communicating your objectives to your
divorce attorney are critical to achieving a desired outcome in regard to child custody
during a divorce.

Experienced Representation + Planning Ahead – a good start to any
divorce in Texas

While no person (attorneys included) can guarantee a particular result
in a divorce case, you can give yourself a leg up by preparing well in
advance and choosing an attorney that can act as an effective advocate
for you. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC represent clients
throughout southeast Texas and are prepared to help you as well.

We hope that this series of articles on
pre-divorce advice was helpful to you. A divorce is difficult enough, no matter the
circumstances. Please contact our office with any questions and to learn
more about our
Houston divorce attorneys and how we can assist you and your family during this difficult time.

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If you want to know more about what you can do,
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Other Articles you may be interested in:

1. Getting Ready for Divorce in 2017 in Texas: Part One of a Two Part Series
2. Dividing Property in a Texas Divorce – The Just and Right Division
3. Why is Separate Property Important and How to Keep it Separate in a Texas Divorce?
4. What Wikipedia Can’t Tell you About Texas Divorce and Marital Property Division
5. Texas Divorce Property Division Enforcement
6. Separate Property in a Texas Divorce?
7. Does it Matter Whose Name is on Title or Deed of Property in a Divorce in Texas?
8. Is Social Security Considered Separate Property in a Texas Divorce
9. Business Owners and Business Assets in a Texas Divorce
10. What to do when your divorce decree does not include a marital asset?

Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Spring 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 important to speak with one of our
Spring, TX 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 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 Spring, Texas,
Cypress,
Spring,
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.