{"id":2660,"date":"2013-02-11T11:02:47","date_gmt":"2013-02-11T17:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bgs.com\/?p=2660"},"modified":"2013-02-11T11:02:47","modified_gmt":"2013-02-11T17:02:47","slug":"how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/11\/how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can I Protect Myself Financially During a Divorce?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While divorce will undoubtedly change your financial position, there are ways that you can reduce the financial danger, especially if you and your spouse have racked up lots of debt.<br \/>\nAs we covered <a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/family-law\/what-happens-to-debt-during-a-divorce\/\">in a previous article<\/a>, debt can become a very sticky situation during a divorce. These steps will help you avoid making the situation worse.<br \/>\nStart by checking your credit. It\u2019s common for divorcing spouses to discover that there are debts they never knew existed. You and your divorce attorney can\u2019t devise a strategy if you don\u2019t know the full story. Pull a copy of your credit report so you can obtain a complete financial picture.<br \/>\nIf possible, it would be a good idea to discuss closing credit accounts with your spouse before cutting off your shared lines of credit so that you do not increase the rancor between you by placing your spouse in an embarrassing situation where he or she tries to swipe a credit card that no longer works. Unless unavoidable, you should avoid taking out any new debt, as well, even if it is only in your own name.<br \/>\nSome who are divorcing will find that bankruptcy is their only option for securing a fresh start and a secure financial future. It\u2019s sometimes a good idea for both you and your spouse to declare bankruptcy at the same time if most of your debts are shared. If this is done before the divorce it could take the issue of dividing debts off the table. However, you should always consult an attorney before making any legal or financial moves &#8211; there\u2019s no doubt that this would be a monumental decision and it may not be the best solution in your specific case.<br \/>\nNavigating financial issues is an important part of the divorce process. Contact <a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/\">Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen<\/a>\u00a0for a consultation today. When you do, you\u2019ll put over 80 years of combined experience as a <a title=\"Divorce Lawyer\" href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/areas-of-practice\/divorce\/\">divorce attorney<\/a> in your corner, allowing you to make informed decisions during this difficult period of your life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While divorce will undoubtedly change your financial position, there are ways that you can reduce the financial danger, especially if you and your spouse have racked up lots of debt. As we covered in a previous article, debt can become a very sticky situation during a divorce. These steps will help you avoid making the situation worse. Start by checking your credit. It\u2019s common for divorcing spouses to discover that there are debts they never knew existed. You and your divorce attorney can\u2019t devise a strategy if you don\u2019t know the full story. Pull a copy of your credit report so you can obtain a complete financial picture. If possible, it would be a good idea to discuss closing credit accounts with your spouse before cutting off your shared lines of credit so that you do not increase the rancor between you by placing your spouse in an embarrassing situation where he or she tries to swipe a credit card that no longer works. Unless unavoidable, you should avoid taking out any new debt, as well, even if it is only in your own name. Some who are divorcing will find that bankruptcy is their only option for securing a fresh start and a secure financial future. It\u2019s sometimes a good idea for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Can I Protect Myself Financially During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/11\/how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Can I Protect Myself Financially During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While divorce will undoubtedly change your financial position, there are ways that you can reduce the financial danger, especially if you and your spouse have racked up lots of debt. As we covered in a previous article, debt can become a very sticky situation during a divorce. These steps will help you avoid making the situation worse. Start by checking your credit. It\u2019s common for divorcing spouses to discover that there are debts they never knew existed. You and your divorce attorney can\u2019t devise a strategy if you don\u2019t know the full story. Pull a copy of your credit report so you can obtain a complete financial picture. If possible, it would be a good idea to discuss closing credit accounts with your spouse before cutting off your shared lines of credit so that you do not increase the rancor between you by placing your spouse in an embarrassing situation where he or she tries to swipe a credit card that no longer works. Unless unavoidable, you should avoid taking out any new debt, as well, even if it is only in your own name. Some who are divorcing will find that bankruptcy is their only option for securing a fresh start and a secure financial future. It\u2019s sometimes a good idea for...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/11\/how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-11T17:02:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth A. Schading\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth A. Schading\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/11\/how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/11\/how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce\/\",\"name\":\"How Can I Protect Myself Financially During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-11T17:02:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-11T17:02:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f593639160f17fde6e6b656a5faec22a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/11\/how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/11\/how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/11\/how-can-i-protect-myself-financially-during-a-divorce\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Can I Protect Myself Financially During a Divorce?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\",\"description\":\"Attorneys at Law\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f593639160f17fde6e6b656a5faec22a\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth A. 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