Documentation regarding assets and liabilities needs to be gathered as soon as possible. This could take some time, so starting early is a good idea. With this documentation, each party can start the process on equal footing. This is especially important if one party handled most of the financial duties during the marriage. The other party could end up at a disadvantage when it comes time to divide property.

Tracking the family’s current expenses could provide an insight into what will be needed in the future once the parties are divorced. In most cases, Kentucky couples will need to sustain two households with the same resources that used to provide for one. Each party needs to have at least a working idea of what it will take to live post-divorce. This information could also help with property division.

Many family law attorneys also caution their clients not to make any decisions before or during a divorce that could upset the financial apple cart. This only makes the situation more difficult — perhaps not today, but at some point, such a decision could come back to haunt one or both parties. Instead, each party should save what money they can by watching expenses and living conservatively. Be sure to get advice from the appropriate source since friends and family may mean well, but every family is unique and what worked for one person may not work for another.

Source: azcentral.com, “7 ways to ready your finances for divorce“, Elizabeth Renter, May 31, 2017