So you’ve decided to divorce, met with a mediator, finalized your marriage settlement agreement and decided which spouse is keeping the house and which one is getting a payment for their share in the equity – what’s next?
The apprehension usually starts here for departing ex-spouses who are out of practice, financially speaking. This is nothing to be ashamed of – Within a partnership, there is usually one spouse that primarily handles the personal finances.
For the financially savvy partner, transitioning to an independent lifestyle will likely be easy. For the latter, this transition may seem complicated and overwhelming at first but it is never too late to learn.
An Overview Of What To Expect:
The best way to maintain a strong financial profile is to be prudent with your spending habits, complete all payments on time, and most importantly try not to get overwhelmed. How do you avoid getting overwhelmed?
Start by writing down all your monthly expenses, where you need to make the payments and what day they are due.
The key housing expenses to be aware of are your mortgage, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA dues (if applicable). An option to help with budgeting your property taxes and homeowners insurance is to include an impound account with your mortgage loan – the mortgage lender can assist you with setting this up.
Rather than having to worry about paying those bills, you can send in a payment every month with your mortgage payment and the loan servicer will pay the property taxes and insurance bills as they come due.
Having your housing expenses appropriately budgeted and paid for will give you the foundation of setting up the rest of your budget. Utilizing tools like auto payment for your HOA and utilities will help ensure you never miss a payment and keep your credit scores strong. If you’d like more information on credit and how to achieve a healthy score, please visit this link. It’s important to set these things up correctly (like auto payments) in order to be financially well-rounded.
While this is just beginning, there are multiple online resources that offer guidance. You can always use us as a resource as well. Please call us at 760-930-0569 if you have any questions regarding your home financing needs.
