If you are getting a divorce in Florida, you may need to protect yourself financially. There are a number of common mistakes that you may make in this situation. For example, many people fail to account for the fact that costs will go up for both individuals when they split one household into two. You should make a budget for your life after divorce, and even if your spouse will be paying you support for a while, you should not count on that over the long run.
Dealing with emotions
It can be difficult to set aside anger and other negative emotions, but it may be necessary in order to communicate with a spouse throughout the process. Being able to negotiate issues around the divorce is usually less stressful and expensive than going to litigation.
Common money mistakes
There are a number of mistakes people often make around the practicalities of property division. First, “equitable” and “equal” division are not the same thing. Florida is not a community property state, so property must be divided equitably but not necessarily equally. This means that, if one spouse has significantly fewer financial resources than the other, that spouse might get more in the divorce. Another common error is not taking taxes into account. There could be tax implications in selling, dividing or taking distributions from assets that can significantly lower their value.
Joint accounts
Finally, you should make sure that you thoroughly disengage financially from your spouse. If there is an agreement for your ex-spouse to pay off a debt, you should get your name removed from it if possible. Otherwise, if your ex-spouse does not keep up with payments, creditors might still pursue you for the debt.
If you are considering a divorce, you may want to start by talking to an attorney about your financial situation. A family law attorney might be able to help you work out a strategy for negotiating an agreement for property division and child custody or for going to court if negotiations are unsuccessful.