{"id":756,"date":"2017-02-09T09:54:53","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T15:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/?p=756"},"modified":"2017-02-09T09:56:46","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T15:56:46","slug":"what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce\/","title":{"rendered":"What to DO before you file for DIVORCE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hindsight is 20\/20. \u00a0Many of my clients come to me wishing they had taken the time to prepare for their divorce. \u00a0Things go much smoother and \u00a0are much less expensive when you have all the facts and information at your fingertips. \u00a0Gathering this information and having sound legal counsel from the beginning can \u00a0make the difference between a smooth transition and an expensive nightmare. \u00a0Let me know if I can help you and follow these tips:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Prepare a list<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0of everything that you and your spouse own and all of the debts, including credit cards, mortgages, retirement accounts, 401 Ks, or Pensions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Know your GROSS monthly salary and your spouses’ GROSS monthly salary.<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Know the EXACT cost of your children’s tutition, uniforms, registration fees and extracirricular activities.<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Make a list of your living expenses. <\/span><\/b>Use the Family Court Affidavit on the 22<\/span>nd<\/sup><\/span> Judicial District website to help you account for ALL expenses.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  5. If you inherit money<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0keep it in a separate account.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Record the mail<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0that comes to your house.\u00a0 Make a list of the companies sending the mail, and their addresses, and copy all documents from financial institutions, credit card companies, insurance companies and real estate firms.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Get a post office box<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 and a private email account. File a change of address with the post office so that only you will be able to read personal mail that you receive and use your private email accoun for divorce business. DO not share your password.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Read your tax returns<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0you file and make copies of tax returns for previous years.\u00a0 Don\u2019t sign a new tax return unless you understand what you are signing.\u00a0 See a tax consultant to make sure you understand your tax situation.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Find out if any taxes are owed<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0to the federal, state, parish or any municipality.\u00a0 Copy notices of any tax assessments.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Look inside all safety deposit boxes<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0or bank boxes and make an itemized list.\u00a0 Take photos of any jewelry or valuables.\u00a0 Find out if there are any boxes that you don’t know about.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  11. Find out about your spouse\u2019s business interests.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Get as much information as you can and make copies of business information such as bank statements, loan documents corporate or partnership tax returns and financial statements.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  12. Cancel any credit cards<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0that can be used by your spouse without your permission.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  13. Get a copy of all pension plans,\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>401-ks, profit sharing plans and retirement funds.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  14. Copy all loan documents,\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>mortgage applications and financial statements.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  15. Check and make sure that you have medical insurance in place.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Shop the marketplace. Remember you only have a 90 day special window after the divorce to secure insurance.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  16. Start putting away cash<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 You will need it for legal representation, securing a new place to live and paying bills.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  17. Do not buy anything on credit<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>, and make no large purchases and pay off together any joint debts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  18. Make necessary repairs to your automobile.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  19. Find a good therapist, a gym and a hobby. Take care of YOU! <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>You will need physical and emotional support and a distraction when things get tough.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hindsight is 20\/20. \u00a0Many of my clients come to me wishing they had taken the time to prepare for their divorce. \u00a0Things go much smoother and \u00a0are much less expensive when you have all the facts and information at your fingertips. \u00a0Gathering this information and having sound legal counsel from the beginning can \u00a0make the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16,9,12,5,19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to DO before you file for DIVORCE - Simply Divorce<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kcvander\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce\/\",\"name\":\"What to DO before you file for DIVORCE - Simply Divorce\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/bored-couple.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-09T15:54:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-09T15:56:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/#\/schema\/person\/710a17a6f54671e46ea91c962fa803c1\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/what-to-do-before-you-file-for-divorce\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/bored-couple.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/bored-couple.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":256},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/simplydivorce.me\/\",\"name\":\"Simply Divorce\",\"description\":\"Resolution. 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