Tips for avoiding financial loss after divorce

•Close joint accounts. Review and close or separate bank accounts, credit accounts and loans.

•Make arrangements to stop or change automatic deposits, payments or transfers. Until separating or paying accounts in full, continue paying the minimum amount due, even if the divorce decree will not assign the debt to you, to ensure your credit history remains positive.

•Request a copy of your credit report. This will verify accounts are updated and correct in your credit history.

•Establish individual credit. If an account was in your spouse's name but you can show you were responsible through canceled checks you signed, creditors may carry forward your credit history during the marriage.

•Consider refinancing major joint loans. If you can't qualify individually for the refinanced loan, consider selling the asset. Regardless of what is ordered in the divorce decree, joint loans remain joint responsibilities.

•Change beneficiaries in your will, insurance policies and retirement plans. If, according to your divorce decree, your former spouse will be entitled to some benefits, changes to beneficiaries should accurately reflect those amounts. If your former spouse is required to maintain life insurance on you, ensure that you will be the owner of the policy to prevent anyone from making changes in the beneficiaries.

•If you are entitled to a portion of retirement benefits, cashing out of retirement plans is safer than waiting for payments. One method is a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), which is part of the divorce settlement and requires splitting the retirement account. Individual portions can then be rolled into individual retirement accounts.

SOURCE: Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Central Oklahoma