How to Take Care of Yourself in a Divorce

Divorce can be stressful for all involved. The emotional and financial toll can be significant, and it can often take several years to start afresh and rebuild your life. You might be a different person by the end of divorce proceedings. However, the following actions might see you in a much better space than you thought possible. 

Protect Your Assets

When you’ve worked hard for your assets, sharing them with a former spouse can be a bitter pill to swallow. However, you might not need to if you establish a domestic asset protection trust or Cook Island Trust

Such trusts are designed to protect property from divorcing spouses, lawsuits, and creditor claims. You might be able to use such a trust to keep your assets out of probate. If you have a Cook Islands trustee, U.S. court jurisdictions often don’t reach them. You can tell your trustee to hand over assets to the U.S. courts, but Cook Islands laws mean trustees don’t have to surrender assets when the trust settlor is under duress from a court order. 

Research Future Spouses

It’s only natural to want to protect yourself when entering a new relationship post-divorce. Few divorcees want to go through what they just went through again. In that case, consider performing records checks on people you intend on entering relationships with.

Public record finder platforms can help you find details about people’s criminal, civil, and vital records. You can even find out if they’ve been divorced before. The more information you have about a potential spouse, the easier it might be for you to decide whether they’re a ‘safe’ choice. 

Get Legal Advice

When you’ve never been involved in a divorce before, it’s only natural that you won’t have all the facts. The legal system can be daunting, and it’s easy to be confused about your rights and entitlements. Perform legal research and get advice as you proceed through your divorce. You might then ensure you’re getting everything you’re entitled to. 

Open Accounts In Your Name

After being married for a number of years, you’ll likely have joint bank accounts and insurance policies. Establishing your own credit history can be crucial for a smooth post-divorce life. Open bank accounts in your own name and change your insurance policies to reflect your life changes. You might also freeze or close joint credit cards and bank accounts to prevent your spouse from making financial decisions you don’t agree with. 

Change Your Will

Changing your will might be the last thing on your mind while going through a divorce, but it can be important. Former spouses being excluded from your will is not an automatic adjustment in all states. 

By changing your will to remove them as a trustee or an estate administrator, you can ensure they have no involvement with your estate if you die. You can meet with a lawyer to change your will while you’re going through your divorce or once it has officially been settled. 

It can feel like you’re losing everything in a divorce, but that doesn’t have to be the case. You might be able to protect yourself and possibly some of your assets by taking these actions above. 

 

I am Finance Content Writer. I write Personal Finance, banking, investment, and insurance related content for top clients including Kotak Mahindra Bank, Edelweiss, ICICI BANK and IDFC FIRST Bank. My experience details : Linkedin