How to Prepare Financially For Your Divorce in BC
The divorce between NBA superstar Dwyane Wade and his estranged wife Siohvaughn Wade is getting uglier as they both want to get the custody of their two children. In most ugly divorce cases, it is found that the issues related to children and financial aspects are the main reasons that force spouses to fight with each other. If you really want to make your divorce in BC an easy process, try to arrive at a marital settlement agreement with your spouse without going to court.
However, you should be very careful while drafting your settlement agreement. Divorce, whether it is contested or uncontested, creates ripples in almost all aspects of lives of both spouses and their children. Dissolution of the marriage can affect you financially and it is better if you start taking proper financial precautions as soon as you and your spouse decide to separate or divorce.
The first thing you have to do is to get a clear picture of financial situation of your family. Try to collect all details of family assets including investments, bank loans, credit cards, expenses, and income. However, it is very important that you should not use any unlawful means to collect information and documents as it can be used against you in the court. If you find yourself unable to collect all details, you can get the help of a private investigator to do that job for you.
Take copies of relevant financial documents and prepare a detailed inventory of sources of family income, expenses, family assets, liabilities. Keep all important financial documents in a safe place. You should also make a list of both marital property and non-marital property and assess the value of your marital property.
During divorce you may require financial documents like bank statements, loan applications, tax return documents, brokerage account statements, mortgage papers, retirement plan documents, employment contract documents, credit reports, recent salary slips, property tax bills, documents regarding stock accounts and family business etc.. You also need documents supporting your claim over certain property as your non-marital property.
You have to be very vigilant against the financial malpractices of your spouse such as withdrawing large amount of money from joint bank accounts, hiding marital assets, not paying back a joint loan, stealing marital property, destroying or damaging the value of a marital asset, and other forms of dissipation of marital property. You should also take precautions to prevent your spouse from using your credit cards to purchase valuable things. Sometimes, a financial expert can help you to financially prepare for your divorce in BC and the life after divorce.