Leaving someone you shared space with can be emotional and financial – not to mention difficult financially. Cohabiting couples may not enjoy legal protections like married couples, and this makes financial matters more important and more proactive to attend to. Here’s a primer on how to get there.

1. Assess Your Financial Situation

To start to look after money when you split up is to have an insight into your shared and individual finances.

Taking Inventory: List all the joint and personal assets, liabilities, and sources of income. This could be bank accounts, homes, debts and annual payments.

Gather Documentation: Gather bank statements, loans, leases, utility bills and other documents to get a complete financial picture.

2. Address Shared Accounts and Assets

If you and your ex-partner had joint bank accounts or assets, then you’ll have to figure out what to do with them.

Joint Bank Accounts

Stop Both Having Withdrawals Without Insight: To stop both parties having withdraws without instigation, freeze the account.
Divide Funds: Come to a mutual understanding of a just division of the remaining amount in accordance with any remaining costs or debt.

Shared Property

If Living in an Apartment: Tell your landlord you are splitting up. Determine who stays in the building or whether to break the lease.

If Owned:

Discuss whether one partner will buy out the other, sell and split the proceeds, or be jointly owned temporarily.

Shared Debts

Debts that are a couple’s joint property such as loans or credit cards belong to them both regardless of which party made them. Go over payment plans or get debts registered in personal names when you can.

3. Review Homeowner Bills and Bills — Read Household Bills and Subscriptions.

Family costs tend to be household expenses: communal utilities, subscriptions, and services. Take care of these before conflict and unpaid bills come up:

Gas and Electric: Inform service providers of your separation. Switch accounts to the person who is living in the building or close the accounts if you are leaving.
Subscriptions: Cancel or transfer subscriptions (streaming, gym, consolidated phone service).
Home, Health or Car Insurance Policies: Replacing or terminating shared policies for home, health or auto insurance.

When you’re a family, your kids are always going to be first.

This includes:

Child Support: Decide how costs such as education, childcare and medical will be allocated.
Custody Contracts: Put in writing custodial contracts to specify financial responsibilities.
Savings Accounts: Discuss the operation of any savings or trust accounts set up for the children.

5. Protect Your Credit

Separation can hurt your credit in the long run if common debts or accounts aren’t handled correctly.

Check Your Credit Score: Review your credit score for changes or errors that are due to the divorce.
Separate Debts: Make sure all joint accounts are closed/delinquent and that each partner is solely responsible for his own debts.
Re-Amend Financial Institutions: Remind banks, lenders and credit card companies of the separation or talk to debt collectors about your situation to avoid accounts being misused.

6. Formalise Agreements

Unofficial plans breed later confusion and wrangling. To protect both parties:

Create a Divorce Settlement Agreement: Specify who has what, when and how much. It is not binding under the law in all states, but it is a reference point.

Ask a Lawyer: Talk to an attorney to make sure your contract is legal on your home state and in case of any conflicts.

7. Check Your Finances & Budget Again For The Future.

After you’ve cleared your shared money, move on to your personal money:

Make a New Budget: Make changes in your income and expenses depending on your new situation.
Re-Establish Savings: Create private accounts and save for future.
Update Beneficiaries: Update beneficiaries on insurance policies, retirement plans, and wills.

8. Seek Professional Guidance

Divorce is messy, especially when you have big assets, debts or kids. Get some professional guidance to make it easier:

Financial Professionals: Consult on division of property and handling financial matters after separation.
Mediators: Handle conflicts between couples and try to settle them amicably.
Therapists: Provide emotional therapy and ways to cope with separation stress.

9. Communicate Clearly

Communicating effectively and politely with your former partner can prevent disagreements about schedules, obligations, dealing with unforeseen problems, etc.

Conclusion

Budgeting once you divorced a lover you lived with takes coordination. Addressing joint accounts, assets, debts, and child care costs as soon as possible and openly will keep you from stressing financially and having to move on. Separation isn’t easy, but acting on the signs and consulting a professional when necessary can ensure a balanced, realistic outcome for both.

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