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Divorce Checklist, Part V: Tasks Relating to the Children

4/27/2023

Don’t miss the first four parts in this series of checklists helping you address the logistics, accounts, finances, online presence, and healthcare changes that may need to be completed upon separation and divorce. Today is our final installment of the divorce checklist, addressing the logistics surrounding the most important and precious part of your marriage: your children. This list is sparse because children are not logistics, and their needs throughout the divorce process cannot be quantified in a tidy checklist. The to-do items that you can address relating to your children are below.

Update the children’s school records to provide contact information for you and your former spouse, emergency contacts, and school pick-ups/drop-offs.
Provide the school with your child custody order to keep in your child’s file.
Keep records of payment or receipt of child support and other support payments made to or received from your former spouse.
Make sure there is an agreement regarding who is claiming the children as dependents on their taxes (and sign any necessary IRS release forms, as may be required).
Keep records of your parenting time and your former spouse’s parenting time with the children; note any significant events, disputes, or changes to parenting time.

We hope these checklists are helpful as you move through separation and divorce. The logistics of separation and divorce can be complicated, but our divorce checklist series is here to provide some simplicity and order to the complex process. You may need legal counsel to guide you through the process and will be happy to jump in to help at any juncture in the separation and divorce process. Please reach out to our firm to schedule a consultation.

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Divorce Checklist, Part IV: Medical Tasks

4/20/2023

If you have missed parts one through three of this five-part series, be sure to scroll down to get caught up on our complete checklist of items to address upon separation and divorce. Today’s blog post helps you consider and think through all of the changes you might need to make relating to your medical records and healthcare.

1. Consider health insurance planning:

Will you be obtaining your own health insurance coverage post-separation or post-divorce?
Are you responsible for covering the children on your employer-sponsored plan or through the Health Insurance Marketplace?
Obtain your own health insurance plan, if necessary.

2. Update your emergency contact at your doctor’s office(s) and elsewhere.
3. Remove your former spouse from HIPAA authorizations at your doctor’s office.
4. Update your healthcare power of attorney and any medical directives for healthcare.

If you need to update your healthcare power of attorney and medical directives, please reach out to our firm for a consultation so we can help you update these important documents.

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Divorce Checklist, Part III: Addressing Your Online Presence

4/13/2023

In previous posts, we provided checklists providing steps for removing your name and responsibility from joint finances, documents, and insurance. In today’s post, we will cover what steps to take to address your online presence post-separation or post-divorce. In today’s world, so much is automated and saved on our devices. While you were married, your spouse likely knew or had access to many of your online passwords and personal accounts. After separation, you need to take steps to remove your spouse’s access to your devices and online accounts. The checklist below outlines various steps you can take to ensure your online presence remains private.
1. Change passwords:

For your phone, computer, email, social media, browser (stored passwords), bank accounts, and credit card accounts.
Enable multifactor authentication for your accounts when available.

2. Wipe or do a factory reset for shared electronics such as a shared tablet or computer. This will remove any saved passwords, credit card information, tax returns, etc. that you don’t want to leave behind.
3. Delete saved joint credit card or bank account information from virtual payment platforms (GooglePay, ApplePay, Venmo, etc.)
4. Deleted saved joint credit card or bank account information from online shopping platforms like Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc.
5. Create your own individual accounts for online memberships or cloud-based services like Amazon, Apple ID, iCloud account, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
6. Change your privacy settings on your social media accounts to share as much or as little with your spouse as you wish.

There may be additional accounts or websites you need to update after your separation, but this list provides a starting point. If you have any questions about your particular situation and how to address your online presence during separation or after divorce, please schedule a consultation with our firm.

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Divorce Checklist, Part II: Handling Important Documents, Insurance, and Mailing Address Changes

4/6/2023

In part one, we went over the tasks required to address the financial side of a divorce like removing your name from and closing joint accounts, making sure you received all assets to which you were entitled in the separation, and starting a new financial plan for yourself. In today’s blog post, which is part two in a five-part series, we provide a checklist that focuses on name, address, and important document changes. It is especially important to consider updating your estate planning documents to provide for your children and remove your spouse from inheritance provisions that may currently exist in your estate planning documents. Now, here are the most important items to consider regarding documentation and insurance.

Transfer vehicle titles.
Separate your cell phone plans.
Update your mailing address on all accounts and personal identifiers, including: driver’s license, credit cards, banks, Department of Motor Vehicles, insurance companies, your children’s schools and doctor’s offices, your employer, personal and business websites, business cards, etc.
Update your voter registration as necessary.
Obtain copies of any important documents that you and your spouse should both have copies of, including: children’s birth certificates, children’s passports or social security cards, marriage licenses, health insurance cards, deed(s) to real property, stock certificates, etc.
Separate your automobile liability insurance policies.
Change other insurance policies: homeowner’s insurance policy, umbrella insurance policies, excess liability coverage.
Close joint safety deposit boxes or post office boxes and open new ones, if necessary.
Update estate planning documents, including: wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and medical directives for healthcare.
If your name changed as a result of the divorce, be sure to follow through with changing your name with the Social Security Administration, passport, driver’s license, bank accounts, credit cards, and other forms of identification and accounts.

Please reach out to our firm and schedule a consultation if you aren’t sure how to proceed. We will help you understand what actions you should take in your unique situation.

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Divorce Differently

Divorce Checklist, Part V: Tasks Relating to the Children

Divorce Checklist, Part IV: Medical Tasks

Divorce Checklist, Part III: Addressing Your Online Presence

Divorce Checklist, Part II: Handling Important Documents, Insurance, and Mailing Address Changes

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