Divorce is a tough process, both emotionally and financially. Florida lawyers saw a rush of people trying to finalize divorces before the end of 2018 to take advantage of certain tax benefits.
Heading into 2019, you need to be cautious of spending too much money on the divorce. Some expenses are unavoidable, but you can save money by following some helpful tips. Here are ways to save money and protect your assets when going into a divorce.
Gather all relevant documentation
To start with, you need to provide your attorney with all pertinent financial documents. This includes:
- Three years’ worth of income tax returns
- Savings and checking account statements for the last year
- Investment account statements for the last year
- Retirement account statements
- Lists of all debts and assets you own
- Most recent pay stubs
- Credit card statements of the last year
Avoid making big financial decisions at this time
Until you finalize your divorce, you should avoid making any significant expenses. This is not the time to purchase a new home or car. This is also not a good time to make superfluous purchases, such as going on a big vacation. You may feel the need to get away, but you do not want to make it appear as though you want to burn through your assets so you can give your spouse less.
Anticipate future expenses
You will have many expenses in the months to come, in addition to paying an attorney to represent you. Therefore, you need to plan ahead to make sure you have enough money for everything. You may need to tighten your budget. For the time being, you may have to avoid going out to eat as often or spending as much on clothing. Planning a budget and figuring out how to pay for everything also helps with the court determining how much to award in alimony.