It’s safe to say that a divorce will bring upon some of the most difficult challenges in your life, especially when it comes to your personal assets. Although your children’s interests should always be a priority, the second most important thing will be your personal finances. The following includes a list of ways you can protect your assets during a divorce.
Start with a personal bank account
The very first thing you should do is begin separating your finances. This often means opening a personal bank account just for you. It is wise to provide your spouse with information about your new account so that their attorney cannot later accuse you of hiding or stealing marital property. If you are the person filing for divorce, it is important to avoid it until you have the proper finances to pay for the legal fees, thus protecting your savings account.
Protecting retirement accounts
Retirement accounts are among the largest assets in a person’s life. Thus, it is imperative that you know how your state divides these accounts, even if there is an uncontested divorce. This places you in a better position if your spouse attempts to take away a large portion of your account.
Protecting real estate property
Any assets obtained during a marriage are considered marital property. In most cases, a division of those properties is inevitable. However, if you owned property before the marriage, you still have a chance of keeping it. An option you have is to simply transfer the assets into an LLC in which you are the sole manager.
Protecting a personal business
As stated above, anything earned during a marriage is marital property, including a personal business. Although you can’t avoid dividing it, you do have the option of buying out your spouse from their share of the company. This will give you sole ownership of the company once again.
Although you have plenty of options on the table to protect your assets, it is important to keep an attorney at your side during every move. An attorney may be able to protect you from making costly legal mistakes.
