When you go through a divorce, you fully expect that there will be changes that must be made. Many of the things that you have to do involve untangling yourself from your ex in all things financial. It is imperative that you do this so that you aren’t faced with the possibility of having your ex sabotage you or impact your credit score.
One of the first things that you need to do is to open your own checking and savings accounts. You also need to think about accounts like your credit card accounts and other financial accounts. Since you are on your own now, all of your financial accounts should reflect that you are flying solo.
Another thing that you will need to do is to divide up the money in the bank. This is usually done in an equal split, but you should double check the divorce paperwork to determine if there is a different arrangement here.
You will need to establish your own utility services. Make sure that the services you need are in your name either through service transfer if applicable or through establishing new service. Be sure that utility companies remove your ex’s name from your accounts. This is also true for the cellphone company.
As you are moving through these financial matters, be sure that you are taking your ex off of the payable on death designations unless you want to transfer those assets to your ex when you die. Some parents choose to keep this the same so the ex can have the assets to care for the children.
For some assets, such as retirement accounts, you need to hold off on making any moves until the divorce order comes out. This is so that you can see what you have to do to divide the asset.
Source: Bank of America, “Dealing with divorce,” accessed June 09, 2017
