It’s probably the last thing you want to deal with during a break up, but it’s certainly wise to pay attention to your finances. Post-divorce life inevitably means a change in lifestyle for most people, so it’s advisable to handle present financial matters carefully and avoid debt as much as possible. Don’t forget that there are legal fees thrown in the mix and divorcing couples find themselves spending a fair amount of their disposable income or savings.

Even as tensions run high, always remember that alimony and the division of assets and property are essentially about money. If you put aside your feelings about the past and present, it would be beneficial to securing a better financial future, or at least one that doesn’t cripple you.

To avoid further complications in your divorce proceedings, take these steps to protect yourself until the settlement is reached:

Open an individual bank account. Financial independence is key to getting back on your feet. If you’re on fairly amicable terms with your soon-to-be ex-spouse, you could agree to take half of the joint account to deposit into your own individual account.

Freeze all joint accounts. This would mean no money would be allowed in or out of your account. If you have more than one joint account, you could opt to put all the money into only one account to simplify things. If you are afraid of any complications or disagreements, you could appoint a bank officer to monitor this account (also called an escrow account) where written authorization for any transactions have to be carried out. In extreme cases, your spouse could liquidate the account without your knowledge. But the court will likely rule that your former spouse reimburses you but this could mean months or years of waiting for the money to come back to you.

Close all joint credit cards. Notify the bank of your impending divorce. Request for the statement of the credit account and inform that you are not liable for any debt accumulated after the date of your letter. You should send this document by registered mail to get proof of receipt from the bank. Sometimes, the bank may ask you to pay all outstanding balances but if you can’t, just ask them to make the account inactive.

Inform your stockbroker.Request that no stocks or other holdings be bought or sold without written approval of both spouses. You should also have this in writing. It just takes a phone call and a few clicks on the Internet for transactions to happen, so this should be one of the first few things you should work on.

Change the tenancy status of all joint real estate. When a couple buys property together, they would do so as “joint tenants”. This means, if one passes away, the other automatically inherits the property. If you don’t want your share to automatically revert to your spouse on your death, for whatever reason, you should change to being “tenants in common”. Within this status, you still have your equal share but you can nominate whomever you wish as your heir. You don’t have to seek permission from your spouse to do this but you have to sign this document in the presence of a notary at the same office where the original deed to your house was recorded.

Make an inventory of the safe deposit box. Ideally, both keys to this box should be surrendered to a bank officer until the final settlement is reached. If you think there’s a high level of distrust in your divorce proceedings, take photos of what it is in the shared deposit box, and have a bank officer sign your inventory.

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3. Women suffer more in divorce

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