5 Steps to Take After Your Divorce is Finalized

As satisfying as it is for you and your divorce lawyer to finalize your split, there are a few more matters that you should take care of.

If your divorce is finalized, or close to it, that is something to celebrate. As painful as your split may be, it is always better to have closure and not have to deal with stressful legal proceedings. Still, you have a few more tasks to carry out once your divorce is final.

Review Your Divorce Decree

Divorce decrees are documents that courts give to couples that split up. What they do is summarize the conclusion of the case, make the divorce official, and give each party a list of things to do. When you obtain this piece of information, you should read it over multiple times to make sure everything makes sense to you. Then, you can complete any pressing tasks on it. More likely, the decree will have general information that doesn’t need your immediate attention.

Change Your Name

If you took your spouse’s name in your marriage, there is a good chance that you’ll want to change it back. Fortunately, doing so is relatively straightforward. Once you do, you can check that the change went through with various institutions like banks, utility companies, the DMV, and voter registration.

Take Stock of Your Finances

No matter which side of a divorce you’re on, your financial situation will change. For a families’ primary earner, that might mean paying alimony and child support. The flipside is true too, as you may end up receiving checks every month. Either way, you need to take stock of your financial situation and likely make some tweaks to it. Some of the more essential matters include sending payments on time, budgeting correctly, and still contributing to retirement accounts.

Resolving Shared Accounts

When you’re married, you share almost everything. That includes bank accounts, retirement savings, deeds, and insurance. Splitting each of these accounts requires some time and effort to do correctly. Additionally, you might share less significant things like a Netflix subscription or email. You should split those as well, though they are less pressing issues.

Understand Your Tax Situation

Child support and alimony lead to a lot of money changing hands. It is essential to know what the tax implications of those transfers are. We recommend talking to a tax specialist, who will make sure you comply with government laws and help you save as much money as possible.

As satisfying as it is for you and your St. Louis divorce lawyer to finalize your split, there are a few more matters that you must take care of before moving on from the situation. The most important of them include reviewing your divorce decree, changing your name, taking stock of your finances, splitting shared accounts, and understanding your tax situation. Once you finish those tasks, you can fully move on from your divorce and build a promising future.