Making a clean financial break after a divorce

Divorcing dependent spouses in Illinois may not want to make all that many changes initially. This may result in the continued reliance on the same set of financial professionals that provided assistance during the marriage. However, it’s generally agreed that newly single people are likely to benefit from making a clean financial break from their former mate after a divorce by choosing a new financial team, especially if it was the other spouse who maintained relationships with those professionals.

It’s typically a good idea for financial advisers to come on board during the part of the divorce process when settlement details are being discussed. They are often able to help people balance their current financial needs with those for retirement. Financial advisers can also determine if it makes good financial sense to fight for the marital home. Once the dust settles, they can also change beneficiary designations on important financial documents and confirm that accounts an ex is entitled to receive are officially transferred.

Accountants can make sure a settlement is fair in terms of potential tax implications associated with various assets. For instance, they might determine that stock options have more tax burdens associated with them than cash assets with the same face value from certain bank accounts. Also, a CPA can identify tax obligations and ensure that filings are done in a way that maximizes allowable deductions. A forensic accountant is a potential financial team member who would be able to help people learn what debts and credit cards are their responsibility while also assessing their current credit health.

A divorce attorney often consults with a client’s preferred financial professionals to help with property division, which may involve having a forensic accountant look for suspected hidden sources of income the other spouse didn’t report or identify unreported assets. A lawyer may also recommend seeking input from an estate planning attorney to make adjustments with wills, trusts, and other documents of this nature.