Avoid These Damaging Financial Mistakes When Getting a Divorce

As you work through your divorce, it is important to take a good, hard look at your financial picture so you can come out of the process on a solid footing. With that in mind, here are a few of the most common financial mistakes people often make during the divorce process:

• Lack of accuracy: Whether it’s related to money, investments, accounts or assets, an inaccurate view of your overall financial status could mean trouble for you as you go through the property division process. It’s difficult to plan for your financial future if you do not know exactly how much money and value with which you are working.
• Not removing your spouse from your financial picture: You should get out of joint accounts as quickly as possible, and change your beneficiaries on all of your policies to someone other than your spouse. A failure to do so could lead to you losing more money than you otherwise would, or a lack of control over who inherits your money should something happen to you.
• Dipping into your retirement savings: As long as you are smart about planning for your financial future, there’s no reason you should have to dip into your retirement savings after your divorce. You should never take distributions from your retirement account unless it is actually for retirement purposes.
• Overvaluing your assets: As humans, we build up emotional attachments to things. This is unavoidable. However, you should never let your sentimental feelings for particular assets cloud your judgments during the divorce process. This could lead to lopsided settlements that harm you later on.

If you are considering a divorce in Long Island and would like to make sure you protect your best interests, consult an experienced attorney with Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.