A divorce can have a significant impact on your physical, emotional and financial health. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to protect all three of these important aspects of your life as your marriage comes to an end. Taking these steps may be especially important if you have children as it can be hard to be strong for them if you are not in good health yourself.
How to Protect Your Physical Health During a Divorce
If you are trying to end a relationship with an abusive spouse, it may be in your best interest to get a restraining order against that person. At a minimum, you may want to consider asking a judge to bar that individual from the family home during the course of the divorce proceeding. In such a scenario, your partner will be asked to stay with friends, family members or at a hotel until the case is resolved.
Depending on the exact circumstances of the case, your spouse may also be allowed to remain at home on the condition that he or she remains confined to one part of it. For instance, he or she may be required to stay in the finished basement that has its own private entrance.
Even if you aren’t dealing with an abusive spouse, your physical health could suffer due to the stress that you might experience while ending a marriage. Therefore, it’s a good idea to exercise regularly after work, on weekends or whenever you may be tempted to sit and think too much. Doing so can make it easier to clear your mind and avoid bad habits such as sleeping too much or eating too much junk food that tend to be associated with high stress levels.
How to Protect Your Emotional Health During a Divorce
In recent years, it has become more common for divorcing individuals to create a comprehensive team to help them get through the process of dissolving their marriages. In many cases, a mental health specialist is brought on as a key member of this team. Having such a person to turn to can help you avoid the urge to vent to your attorney, which will do nothing but add to the number of billable hours he or she accrues during the case.
It also ensures that you have someone to talk to about any negative feelings that you might have about your spouse. Talking to a therapist means that you aren’t lashing out at your partner, and remaining civil with this individual can make it easier to come to a settlement in less time.
If you have children, working with a mental health expert can make it easier to be there for them. This is because you will have a safe place to process your emotions so that you don’t accidentally take out your frustrations on them. Furthermore, a therapist can help you develop strategies that can make life easier on your kids as they process the loss of their existing family unit.
How to Protect Your Financial Health In a Divorce
It may not be possible to remove your name from a joint credit card account after divorce papers are submitted to the court. However, it may be possible to freeze an account so that your spouse can’t accrue new debts that you might be responsible for. In addition, you should think about freezing your credit so that your spouse can’t get a new credit card, personal loan or mortgage in your name.
You should strongly consider getting a credit card in your own name if you don’t have one already. This will make it easier to establish a positive credit score and history, which you’ll need to get loans as a single person. A good credit score can also help you get insurance, an apartment or a job.
Ideally, you will check your credit report at least once a month during the divorce process. Taking this step can help you identify any suspicious activity that could reduce your credit score or otherwise make it harder to live after your marriage is finally dissolved. You can get one free copy of your credit report each year, and most major credit card companies allow you to monitor your score for free throughout the year.
It may also be a good idea to review your household’s most recent tax returns to determine if your spouse may be hiding assets. A tax return may contain evidence that he or she has gambling winnings, a business or a profitable brokerage account that you didn’t know about. Generally speaking, you are entitled to half of any assets acquired during a marriage
Do You Want to Learn More About This Topic?
According to experts, most American adults consider a divorce to be almost as traumatic as the loss of a loved one. Therefore, it’s important that you take steps to protect yourself during such a tough time in your life. You can keep reading here to learn more about the divorce process and the impact it can have on yourself and your family.