Married? Is Your Financial Future Secure?

For many women, the financial impacts of a divorce can be devasting. Women are much more likely to interrupt their careers to raise families, to neglect insurance and retirement planning and in many cases, to have no plan at all when faced with a divorce.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 43 percent of first marriages end in separation or divorce with the first 15 years. With this in mind, are you actively planning your finances around this possibility for your relationship? If not, you could face dire straits if your spouse comes home one day and hands you divorce papers.

A Married Woman's Financial Future Checkup

• Are there assets in both spouses name? In separate accounts?


• Whose name is the house in? Do you have a right to the home if your name is not on the deed and mortgage? What laws govern your state and real estate obtained while in a marital state?


• Do you have a will? Does your husband? Who are the beneficiaries? When is the last time you updated your will? Are you on your second marriage? If so, have you adjusted your beneficiary statuses to account for your new relationship?


• Don't leave your estate up to be divided up based on a probate court. If you do this, you can count on the probate court costing your heirs more money than necessary.


• Do you know where your mortgage and insurance paperwork are? Do you have access to them? If you haven't read through them, make some time to read through them so that you understand what they say. Are you a beneficiary on your husband's policies? If not, why not? Shouldn't you be?


• Go over all of your insurance paperwork for your family. Do you have sufficient coverage? Have you spoken to a financial professional about how long term care insurance may fit into your financial future?


• If you have a 401(k) make sure to put as money into as possible. This is a rainy day fund if you need before retirement so make sure you max it out if possible. Having this in your back pocket will add to your financial security and give you some peace of mind.


• Take some time and meet with a financial planner who understands the divorce laws in your state to review your financial setup with your husband and family. Do it now so that everything is in order. Again, contingency planning is smart planning.


• If you don't know about financial planning, or financial products, start educating yourself about them. This will help you plan for your future and it can definitely help with your family's financial planning.


• If you are married, you need to make sure you have a financial plan for yourself and your kids if you have them in case something happens that has you all of a sudden out on your own and solely responsible for your family's finances.

You could be on your own as a result of a divorce, or it could be from the death of your spouse. Either way, if your husband ran the family finances one day and he is gone the next you want to prepared in the unlikely case that you are now the one responsible for it.

Content Courtesy of ARA Content