Steps to Protect Your Assets
When going through a divorce, the issue of finance is a very ticklish matter. In cases where, long before the divorce you were no longer in good speaking term with your wife, you may both have “financial” secrets from each other because you no longer trust each other. Examples would be, you have extra income coming to you other than your regular income or you have credit cards that your wife does not know about or your wife “keeps” some money out of the grocery and daily food budget of the family. Once the secrets are out, your wife might get so angry and offended that she wants you out of the house or is threatening to leave the house herself. This is when action is required, especially if you and your wife have accumulated assets during the period of the marriage. Here are what you need to do fast to protect your assets:
• Gather all financial documents that you can lay your hands on. all documents are important.
• Photo copy all the documents or list down the names, addresses and account numbers for every document you have collected just in case your wife asks for the original.
• Obtain the balances of every account that you are aware of – credit cards, savings account, checking accounts and even retirement funds, and keep track of all the transactions on the accounts if and when you need proof that your wife withdrew funds irregularly.
• Open a bank account in your name and begin depositing some money in it. Unless there is already a court restraining order against it, you can withdraw money from the joint account without your wife’s consent. Avoid getting more than 50% of the available funds and provide funds for issued checks and other charges.
• Get a lawyer and entrust to him all the documents you have collected.
Your wife may have already made some financial moves such as transferring cash into a new bank account or putting some assets out of your reach before informing you that she wants a divorce. While she won’t be able to get away with it, you may be up to a long and expensive legal battle to get what is legally yours. But being armed with the proper documentation will help you get them eventually.
