We know that for many of our Oklahoma clients, finances play a role in their divorce. Not simply that a great deal of their time will be spent figuring out how to divide their marital property or how to be able to afford their child support payments, but issues involving money can be very divisive in a marriage and disputes involving spending and debt-levels can drive a wedge between a couple.

And a divorce can have deeper financial ramifications that merely fights over the existing assets. The importance of accurately projecting your financial condition after the divorce, while you are still negotiating your property division, cannot be over stated. Failure to properly plan during your divorce proceedings could leave you exposed to financial trouble and potentially bankruptcy.

Your costs after a divorce will probably be much greater than you imagine. Your marriage income will be spread across two households, with all of the increased expenses that that entails.

If you keep your home, have you factored in the full costs of utilities and maintenance? If you can afford to refinance the mortgage, can you also absorb the cost of a new furnace or roof?

You need to ensure that you have eliminated all of the joint accounts you have, to prevent your being saddled with debt you did not incur and may not be able to afford.

The other reason this is important is that if your former spouse should stop paying on those accounts, and declare bankruptcy, you would be legally obligated to repay those debts or you could be forced into your own bankruptcy.