| Abby
Johnson
When going through a divorce it is very important
to protect your assets. It is possible for an unsuspecting spouse
to find on top of everything else, bank accounts were raided,
stocks sold and insurance policies cashed.
If you are a woman going through a divorce try
to have joint liquid accounts transferred to your name. You may
have to get your husband to sign documents but some banks just
need one party to do this.
The process is not so simple with assets such
as stocks, mutual funds, bonds and other investments. Usually
it is necessary to have both signatures to liquidate these assets,
but, if you have signed a power of attorney in the past or if
your husband’s new girlfriend tries to sign up in your place,
you may in trouble. To combat these circumstances, make sure all
institutions are aware you are going through a divorce and ask
them to check for identification before accepting a transaction.
One bad scenario would be if your husband runs
off with a cash value of a life insurance policy. In this case,
to protect yourself try to get that policy in your name. Sometimes
the courts would require a husband to keep up the policy while
you are separated. Another way to safeguard the assets is to keep
track of account numbers and balances. Make copies for your attorney
too. A wife should know what a husband’s pension looks like.
Knowledge is power. At the very least, this would reduce some
anxiety around an already stressful situation.
The safeguarding goes both ways though. At this
stage assets should be considered money you intend to protect
until it can be divided equitably. However if you need to take
out some money to pay for another marital asset like your home
or child support then make sure your attorney understands the
situation and has an account of it.
Article Source: http://www.article-matrix.com Abby Johnson is
a staff writer at Legal Journal and is an occasional contributor
to several other websites, including Lifestyle Gazette.
| 
Overview
