Last year I put down $2,847 helping my sister settle her finances after a divorce. And that wasn't even for the lawyers because he couldn't change those funds, just dealing with a bunch of financial garbage that came up later.
He had used it online divorce and yes that part went well enough. But the financial instability continued to grow for months. We got three credit cards none of us knew existed. A car loan in both names that ruined his credit when he stopped paying. Tax refunds are delayed because no one has bothered to review the filing conditions.
Pull Your Credit Report Now
Get your full credit report the same week you file that paperwork. Not next month. Today.
The things that appear will scare you. My sister found a $4,200 Home Depot card she co-signed seven years ago and completely forgot about. He completed it two months before applying and his credit score took over.
Those free credit check sites won't show you everything. You need a complete report for each account listed. I've seen people get store cards they don't remember opening when they got married, bills still showing both names, old medical bills that just randomly showed up, car loans showing late payments from someone they're trying to avoid.
No One Prepares for Tax Season
Everyone is concerned about who will get the house and the furniture. April 15th is not coming.
My brother-in-law filed for a year of separation without speaking to his ex-wife. He had already filed their taxes jointly since they were still married that January. The IRS flagged both returns which created an 11-month nightmare.
Both people need to agree on the form of filling before anyone clicks send.
I called the CPA about this mess last March. He paid $180 just to talk for an hour but he explained something important: your marital status on December 31st determines your filling options for the rest of the year. Finalized your divorce in early January? You still file as married in the previous tax year.
Joint Bank Accounts Become a Complete Mess
I watched my cousin try to close a joint checking account in 2024 and the whole process took 47 days because her ex kept using the debit card and made three purchases while trying to close it.
You cannot close joint accounts jointly in most cases. Both signatures are required. And if there is money sitting there you better document every dollar and where it goes.
Open your account at a different bank immediately. New facility, new login information, everything is new. Redirect your payments there ASAP. I have seen too many cases where someone withdraws from a joint account the day before filing and while that is technically legal in some states it creates a complete disaster.
Retirement Money Gets Messy Quickly
My sister saw that her 401k was hers since her name was the only one on the account.
It's wrong.
It turns out 12 years of contributions made during the marriage count as marital property under federal law and she needed something called a QDRO drafted to properly divide them without incurring huge tax penalties.
He paid $650 to have it professionally painted. Skipping that step would have cost thousands more in early withdrawal fees and tax hits.
Don't mess with retirement accounts without researching your state's specific laws first. Some states mandate a straight 50-50 split of everything while others use “equal distribution” which means fairness instead of equality, a big difference when looking at hard cash in a retirement fund.
