Navigating through the divorce process can take up all of your time and energy. Deciding who receives certain assets, who spends what time with the children and more is not always easy. For this reason, you may forget to think about just how your post-divorce financial life will look.
As you go through negotiations with your future former spouse, you may want to make sure that you put yourself in the best position possible financially after the divorce.
Post-divorce expenses you may forget to consider
You certainly wouldn’t be the first Pennsylvania resident to forget about the following potentially unexpected expenses you will more than likely need to account for as you plan your post-divorce life:
- Make sure you have accounts and credit in your own name.
- Account for the fact that your income taxes will probably go up now that you are single again.
- Your retirement plan may take a big hit. You may need to make adjustments to account for it.
- If you pay spousal support and/or child support, it will affect your income and budget.
- You won’t have your spouse’s income to help if you encounter financial challenges.
- If you need to change a child support or spousal support order, you will need to go back to court, and that may cost you.
- Even if you avoid a courtroom battle by working together on an agreement, it may still be costly. You will need to make up for your portion of the expenses somehow.
- With only one income, everything will cost you more.
These represent just some of the reasons why it is vitally important for you to review not only your current financial situation but your future situation as well. Before entering into negotiations for your divorce settlement, you may want to create a budget and do what you can to find out what kind of expenses you can realistically expect post-divorce. Too many people fail to look far enough ahead in order to determine whether the decisions they make now will serve them or harm them financially.
For instance, is it really feasible to fight for the family home? You will need to qualify for a mortgage on your own, and you will be solely responsible for taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs and all of the other things that come with home ownership. Taking a hard look at the reality of your financial situation after the divorce could save you some unexpected expenses and frustration as you move forward.
