Debt is a prime cause for a broken marriage no matter which party is responsible for it.
Some cases show that a man is forced to bear the penalty and liability for the debt settlement incurred by his wife even after divorce.
The law of dividing assets and debts varies by state, but usually a divorced dad will be forced to pay off some portion of the marital debt.
This burden, combined with your financial responsibility toward your kids, can be a difficult task to handle.
Here are four effective tips to save money to pay off the rogue creditors and maintain your financial health as a single dad:
1. Calculate the total amount owed to the creditors including the interest and the penalty charges. Merge your multiple debts into a single low-interest loan to make the monthly payment affordable.
Once you pay off your owed amount then you can save a considerable amount of money and even start putting that money toward future education expenses for your children.
2. Maintain a record of your monthly expenses in an Excel sheet so that you can check the amount flowing out of your account. This will help you to avoid over expenditure.
Try to incorporate detailed information in the Excel sheet, as it will help to get a better overview of the total amount spent at the end of the month. Maintain the receipts in a file so that you can tally them with the data on the expenditure sheet.
3. Formulating a budget can help you curb your expenses and avoid defaulting on your payments. You can pay off your debts more quickly if you are under an organized budget. Keep reviewing your monthly budget and change it according to your financial situation.
4. Avoid using credit cards, as it can be a reason for incurring more debts. Use cash so you spend within your means. Credit cards tempt you to spend more than you can afford, so you need to restrict your desire to exhaust your plastic money.
Remember, the job of the opposing party’s attorney is to maximize what their client is to receive and look out for their client’s best interest. That can include shifting any debt that may be the sole responsibility of their client to the opposing party.
Depending upon the state in which you live in, some courts will assign debts by looking at the purpose for which the debt was incurred and whom it benefited.
If the debt was incurred to benefit one party over the other, then the court may assign that debt to the party who incurred the debt and not treat the debt as marital.
Learn how your state will divide marital property. For more information and to contact a divorce lawyer near you, please contact Cordell & Cordell.
