When going through a'divorce, dividing assets is clearly one of the things that's going to be a headache. On top of the emotional and familial fall-out following a marital split, there's the obvious burden of divvying up the life you have built together. While deciding who gets the house, the car, or the vacation cabin may be first on your mind, there's also the issue of dividing up your actual accounts.'According to Wiley Publishers''For Dummies,'one important step if you anticipate a nasty divorce is to first open both a savings and a checking account in your own name'if you don't have one already'and transfer just enough out of your shared account that you'd be able to meet your very basic needs. 'If you haven't informed your spouse of this financial move, after he or she learns about it, expect some fireworks that'll make your'divorce'negotiations more difficult,' warns Dummies.com.
The next step is to begin to close your shared financial accounts. This refers to not just joint bank accounts, but joint credit cards, equity credit lines, real estate property, safe deposit boxes, joint investments or other holdings, and security margin accounts,'according to DivorceSource.com. One great piece of advice is to freeze the joint account and request your bank not to allow any transaction without the authorization of both parties. You could also opt for an 'Escrow' account, according to DivorceSource, 'in which an officer of the bank is assigned to monitor and must give written authorization with respect to any such account before any transaction may be conducted.'
If you have joint credit cards that have a significant amount of debt associated with them, the first step is to 'formally write the creditors and notify them of the impending divorce,' according to DivorceSource. Include in the letter that you don't intend to be responsible for any of the debt incurred after the date of the letter'a legal recourse you'll have if your soon-to-be-ex spouse decides to go on a spending spree.
For finding out more about asset and property division and how to successfully achieve a financial split, the most important first step is to contact a family law attorney. Don't go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Chicago family law attorney today.
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