One of the concerns that almost everyone has who goes through a divorce is regarding making sure that your financial life does not get turned upside down because of the case. How many times do we see during a divorce case what we had imagined is being a solid financial footing ends up Being more like quicksand. This is true even if you have a plan in place as to how you want to attack the divorce.
One of the major ways that you can combat the high costs of divorce is to perform your due diligence when it comes to hiring an attorney to represent you in your divorce. With limited exceptions, I always recommend to potential clients of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan that they hire an attorney to represent them in their divorce case. This could mean that you choose to hire an attorney that is close to your home or even one that is across town from you.
However, at the end of the day you should consider an attorney’s experience level, reputation, and pricing before hiring him or her period it is also relevant to ask the attorney for their references to talk to other people that have been represented by the lawyer to see how past clients rate the attorney. It is better to get the impression of a former client that anyone else. That way you can learn how the attorney manages their time and communicates with you and how proficient the lawyer is at achieving the goals you have for your case.
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week. A consultation is where one of our attorneys will sit down with you to go over your case and talk to you about what you can expect in a divorce and how your case may turn out. It is a good idea to learn about an attorney not only based on recommendations and reviews from family members but also from your own experiences. By working with one of our experienced attorneys we believe that you will gain an advantage in your case. However, we understand that before you can be comfortable enough to hire one of our attorneys that you may want to talk to us about your options as well as what specific advantages, we think can be gained by hiring one of our lawyers.
This is a reasonable request and one that we seek to accommodate by offering these types of consultations. When it comes to these consultations we try to be as flexible and open as possible. We understand that if you are seeking out advice about whether to hire and carry the first place you may be looking for general information that can help you decide between hiring an attorney. On the other hand, you may have specific questions about your divorce and what answers as quickly as possible. We know from experience that the best time to get an answer was yesterday and the second-best time is right now. We would like to work with you to get your answers so that you can make good decisions for yourself and for your family moving forward in your divorce case.
In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we are going to share with you some tips on how to maintain good credit during your divorce. Paying your bills on time, keeping a strong income, and not overextending yourself when it comes to dad our ways that you probably utilize to build your good credit in the first place. Now that you are going through a divorce the last thing you want to do is see your years of diligent credit building all go to waste. With that said, there may be some tips and tricks that you can utilize to learn the best way to maintain overall good financial health in addition to keeping your credit strong. Just because you go through a divorce does not mean you have to set yourself back financially. On the contrary, many people make their way through a divorce and see that they are in a better financial state than they ever have been previously.
If at all possible- see if your marriage can be saved
This may sound like a silly answer to give on a blog post for a divorce attorney, but the reality is that if you can avoid having to get a divorce in the first place then you will not risk your credit being damaged because of going through the divorce. You should not assume that you will need a divorce unless you have pursued every option to the contrary and been unable to save your marriage. Ultimately, only you can determine when all other avenues have been exhausted. People go through difficulties in their marriage but do not take simple steps to tender counseling to make a good faith effort to resolve the problems in their marriage.
I think counseling and therapy are two great places where you can begin your analysis of whether your marriage can be saved. However, attending marriage and family therapy requires a good faith effort both by you and your spouse. It is not very frequent that you see only one spouse go through therapy, but the marriage is saved as a result. Rather, one of the benefits of marriage and family therapy is that you can learn communication strategies that can assist you all during troublesome times in your marriage.
Many people assume that marriage and couples therapy is just an opportunity for the therapist to play referee or tie breaker in fights that you are having with your spouse. While this may be true to some extent the reality is that you and your spouse are likely struggling in terms of your ability to communicate with one another about different problems in your marriage. This is where marriage and family therapy can come in handy for you and your spouse. It is in this setting, with an experienced therapist, that you can begin to learn some tips and tricks on how to better communicate with your spouse.
I have found in my years of working as a family law attorney that very few of us are born with the ability to communicate well with our spouses. This is true even if you are effective at communicating in your day job or have never thought of yourself as struggling in terms of your communication previously. Rather, I think that we could all stand to benefit from the skills covered in places like marriage and family therapy. If money concerns have been the primary driver of the problems in your marriage, then you can not only improve your financial outlet, maintain your strong credit, and save your marriage by attending marriage and family therapy.
You may come to find out that the major issues of your marriage are less about finances and more about trust, security, and a combination of the problems that have come about because of neglect in your relationship. The past few years have been difficult for most all of us. As a result, if you believe that your family could stand to benefit from marriage and family counseling now will be a great opportunity to see if that is the case. Talk to your spouse about it to gauge whether you or she will be willing to attend counseling with you. It just might save your marriage and, in the process, help you keep your strong credit.
Minimize debt during the divorce
I understand that this may be easier said than done regarding costs associated with the divorce case. Your lifestyle may be about to take a significant hit because of your household income being cut in half and your overall mindset being altered for a season of your life. As a result, you cannot necessarily expect to live the type of lifestyle that you have become accustomed to at least during the divorce itself. Cutting back on expenses, costs, and other aspects of new life during the divorce is probably a good idea.
If you have a credit card, then you should probably seek to use that card as little as possible during the divorce. You may come to find out that your credit card bills are divided in a way that you would not have anticipated at the beginning of your divorce case. As a result, you should not assume that your debt will be divided in a way that is to your advantage or is even done in a way that you would have anticipated. Remember that property and debt in a divorce are divided in just the right manner. This does not necessarily mean that your property will be divided equally. Talk with your attorney about how to minimize debt as well as how debt is likely to be divided in your case.
Another piece of advice that I could provide regarding debt in your divorce is that you should seek to pay cash, when possible, for expenses regarding your divorce. I know that it can be difficult to find extra money in your budget during the divorce but, if at all possible, you should aim to pay for your attorney, court costs, and any other fees associated with their cash case rather than putting it on credit. while you may not be able to pay down debt during the divorce at the very least you can do no more harm to yourself by incurring more debt during the case.
Another tip that you may wish to implement to help ease the burdens financially in your divorce is to try and gain extra income during the divorce case itself. This extra income could come from several sources. You may not even need to work this job on an extended basis. However, having income temporarily can go a long way to minimizing excess debt that you necessarily cannot pay for. The last thing you want to do is feel backed into a corner and unable to decide for yourself other than to take out a loan for attorney’s fees or anything else.
You may have to be creative with how you pay for items during the divorce, but the extra thought and consideration paid to the subject can add tremendous advantage to your case and you on a personal level. Keep in mind that no one else’s goal in the divorce will be to make sure that you keep a good credit period as a result, this needs to be something that you were focused on.
Make sure you keep focused on your work in addition to your divorce
One of the difficulties that people face scenario is having to split their time and attention between their divorce case and the rest of their lives. Divorces do not mean that everything else in your life will be paused for the duration of your case. Rather, the rest of your life real necessarily keep going on and on despite the challenges of your divorce. This may seem straightforward but there’s something that can get lost in your analysis of the case. you will still be responsible for all the other important areas of your life despite having the community’s responsibility of maintaining a divorce case and everything that comes with it.
It is common for people to allow their work to suffer because of Involvement in divorce. You need to be mindful that it is possible for you 2 see your work performance suffer and this is the last thing you want to see happen during a divorce case. Losing your income during a divorce could be disastrous. As a result, you should do whatever you can to ensure that you can maintain your income throughout the life of your divorce.
On a practical level, this may mean having to hire an attorney when you initially did not want to. Why is it so important to hire an attorney in your divorce case? As your attorney, we’ll be able to devote a considerable amount of time and effort to your case. As a result, you will be able to spend more time on other matters such as your work. Both custody, conservatorships, and property division questions in your divorce depend upon your having a full-time job as well as a steady income. From the perspective of your credit, you likely understand that part of your creditworthiness is determined based on your income. Do not lose sight of this during the divorce.
Check your credit report every so often during the divorce
This is a piece of advice that I provide to clients regularly. It is important to check your credit both during a divorce and immediately after. On the one hand, you want to ensure that you are aware of any open accounts in your name. Many people are unaware until after a divorce that their spouse has opened accounts in their names such as credit cards or other lines of credit period this can be disastrous for you from a personal financial perspective. Completing a divorce case but not having all the debt attended to means that you will likely be responsible for that debt after the divorce.
Rather, you should Check your accounts early in the divorce to determine whether there are accounts open that you were previously unaware of. At least by learning about those accounts you can make plans on how to account for them in negotiations. Next, when you consider your credit understand that your credit score will suffer if their credit bureaus believe that you are overextended in terms of having accounts open that are disproportionate to your income. One of the main causes of this may be your spouse opening accounts without your knowledge or permission. Be sure to address these issues in your divorce before it is too late.
Keep a level head about credit
Ultimately, maintaining a good credit score should not be the number one or even number two goal of your divorce. Remember what credit is: an opportunity to borrow money. In most cases how do you build a good credit score? By borrowing money. All of this is done in a loop or cycle where you may be caught up in constantly borrowing money just to see your credit score or credit rating improve. You need to determine whether this is a cycle or a loop that you are interested in being a part of on an ongoing basis.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law as well as about how your family circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody case.
Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
