You’ve gone through one of the most stressful and challenging times of your life, but now you’re finally divorced. There’s definitely time to celebrate the beginning of the rest of your life, but don’t forget that there are still a few loose ends to tie up. Here’s what I recommend you focus on once your divorce is finalized (after you’re done celebrating).
Take Time to Understand Your Obligations
It’s astonishing how many men have never read their settlement agreement or court order. Without a thorough understanding of these documents, it can be difficult to understand exactly what your obligations are after the divorce. When it comes to spousal maintenance, child support, and custody, you must understand the expectations you’re legally required to follow. A failure to understand your responsibilities may result in legal action being taken against you. These documents can certainly be complicated, so feel free to ask your divorce attorney for men in New Jersey to explain the legalese and clear up your confusion.
Keep Thorough Notes
After you have read through your settlement or court order, it may be helpful to record all of your obligations in one place. This will be much easier to consult than the lengthy official document, so it’s a great way to keep track of monthly payments and other responsibilities. In addition I recommend making a log of any important dates that are relevant to your agreement. This may include the date your alimony payments are scheduled to end or when your child will no longer require child support payments. If you stop these obligations prematurely, you may face legal repercussions. Even if you’ll be making these payments for years to come, it’s always nice to be reminded that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Change Account Details and Beneficiaries
If you and your spouse had joint credit cards, insurance policies, or retirement accounts where you named each other as beneficiaries, these accounts will all need to be updated once your divorce is finalized. Much of this information cannot be modified until you are actually divorced, so make this your top priority after leaving court for the last time. It’s important to be sure you are changing these details in a way that is consistent with your obligations. For example, you may not be able to change the named beneficiary of your insurance policy. But for everything else, change it as quickly as possible to avoid a headache in the future. Of course, feel free to speak with your NJ divorce lawyer for men first to ensure you’re doing everything by the books.
Modify or Draft Your Will
If you already had a will prior to your divorce, that will is automatically revoked now that your divorce has been finalized. So, you are now tasked with creating a new will that takes into account your current life circumstances. Since you are divorced, it is very unlikely that your ex-spouse would be able to inherit any of your property upon your death, but without a will you still cannot be sure that your property is distributed in the way that you want it to be. If you’ve had children since your previous will was drafted, be sure to take into account what you would like them to inherit. And if you didn’t have a will while you were married, now is a great time to draft one. You’ve already taken charge of your life by seeking a divorce so now it’s time to take charge of your current estate.
