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How to Protect Your Financial Future During a Divorce

If you anticipate divorcing your spouse, or you anticipate them divorcing you, there are things you can do to protect your finances in the event of an Orlando divorce.

REMEMBER, THE DATE OF VALUATION FOR ASSETS AND LIABILITIES IS THE DATE OF FILING THE PETITION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE WITH THE CLERK OF COURT UNLESS YOU HAVE A LEGAL SEPARATION AGREEMENT. IF YOU HAVE A LEGAL SEPARATION AGREEMENT, THEN IT IS THE DATE OF THE LEGAL SEPARATION AGREEMENT.

Prior to filing:

1. Check your credit report to make sure your spouse did not open any joint credits cards that you did not know about that you are currently obligated on to credit card company but do not know about.
2. Make sure you have a credit card in your name that you can use to help you survive if your spouse threatens or cuts off funds. This is crucial if you do not work and rely on your spouse to survive.
3. Start collecting all the financial records such as tax returns, retirement account statements, bank account statements, credit card account statements, etc in order that you know your joint net worth.
4. If you have any monies or items that you got prior to the marriage, by gift or inheritance, and have not commingled those funds or asset, start collecting all documentation and have a paper trail to show that you had the funds/asset prior to the marriage or received it by gift and/ or inheritance and kept it segregated.
5. Open an account in your name and have money in it. This protects you in the event your spouse takes money in joint account.
6. Discuss with your spouse each of you taking half of the joint account money to prevent the possibility of one spouse clearing out the account and leaving you with nothing to survive on until you can get a hearing on temporary support which can take 3 months or longer.
7. Make sure that all the household expenses are not going on your credit card while the spouse’s card is debt free.
8. Check with social security to see when you reach retirement age if you are able and if it is better for you to claim under your earnings or under your spouse’s earnings.
9. Meet with a CPA.
10. Meet with a financial planner.
11. Meet with an attorney.

Once you file for an Orlando divorce, request a hearing on temporary support immediately. If you have legitimate concerns that your spouse is depleting or hiding assets, you can file an injunction to prevent the spouse from accessing the assets. You can also do a request to produce your spouse’s credit report. You can do a request to produce your spouse earnings from social security when he/she retires. You can hire a forensic accountant to see if the spouse is truly giving you an accurate picture of their finances. You definitely want to do mandatory disclosure and may need special interrogatories and requests to produce along with general interrogatories and request to produce.

If you have more questions regarding this, you can contact Ann Marie Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, PA for an initial consultation at 407-732-7620.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client relationship.