Financial planning after Marriage, Divorce & Child
Household net worth will be divided while incomes, assets and obligations may also be separated and can sometimes make life complex. To reduce future financial effects.
Financial planning after marriage
Tax and finances can be affected by marriage, divorce or parenthood. In marriage, more financial opportunities might be created as well as more challenges for couples. When one partner saves for the future and the other is extravagant. One is industrious and the other might be lazy. One is carefree with money and the other strictly spends on a budget. Financial decision will now be made together as a couple.On the other hand, after divorce, finances might be affected.
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Household net worth will be divided while incomes, assets and obligations may also be separated and can sometimes make life complex. To reduce future financial effects, you need to know how to plan your finances. You need to be able to control your own situation.
You might need to consider meeting some professional legal advisers and financial consultants as they can help provide the need knowledge and guidance on how to manage finances after divorce. Some divorce support groups can also be consulted.
Below are some advice that might be taken into consideration:
- Prepare a new budget for your new life – Before the divorce or separation, decisions might have been taken together. As a family, sources of income and provisions might have been made by quota or probably by a partner due to unemployment, sickness or other condition of the other partner. The impact of a divorce simply turns the budget of a family into two with each party having its separate income sources and expenditure. Determine your financial obligation. Your budget will be affected by the details of the divorce settlement so make sure you (along side your lawyer) ensure that the settlement is favorable to you, enabling you to support yourself and your children. You might need to get an employment in case you were not working before the divorce. You might also need have to change your location or lifestyle. Summarily, You will have to consider your new life so as to develop the best possible budget to forge on with your new life.
- Minimizing debts – Since the divorce settlement will include both debts obligations and assets, ensure you, along side your lawyer, make a full assessment of debts and obligations incurred as joint debts made with your ex-spouse. Debts such as mortgages and leases of home and automobiles, credit card debts, businesses, loans etc. Be aware of your credit card rating especially if the debts were still owed till after divorce. You might need to start cutting down on expenses like owning more vehicles when they are not needed, living in a house way beyond your budget etc.
- Save for the future – Remember to plan for long term changes in your finances while you plan for the present. Long term changes may be caused by children’s education, health care etc. You might also start considering retirement. You might start thinking of saving more and spending less. If you are considering saving, remember that consistency in saving might also be affected by various stages of your life.
