 | Start with changing your
name as part of your divorce decree. It's free when you do it at this stage
and will cost you money if you do it later. |
| Change your name with social
security. Click here
to go to Social Security's web site to find
out how to do it. |
| Change your driver's license.
The requirements of this will change from state to state, but you'll
usually need to change your name with social security before you change
it on the driver's license. |
| Make sure that if there's
supposed to be a Qualified Domestic Relations Order
done that it actually gets done. It's easy to overlook this. |
| If your divorce decree calls
for a quitclaim deed or statutory warranty
deed, make sure that actually gets done too. |
| If the divorce decree calls
for you to transfer title to one or more of your automobiles,
go ahead and get that done. |
| Get your name (or your spouse's
name, as the case may be) off the joint bank account. |
| Get your name (or your spouse's
name, as the case may be) off the mortgage on the house. |
| Open a new checking account
in your name. Be smart. Make the first check "1000" rather than "1." That
way it won't be so apparent to merchants and others that it's a brand new
account. |
| Open a credit card in your
name alone and actually use it to make a credit purchase. No need to go
overboard on this, but it does make sense to build a record of using credit
and using it wisely. |
| Make sure your auto insurance
got changed over okay. |
| Make sure your health insurance
is lined up and in place. |
| Make sure your life insurance
is in place and that you actually ask for the proof from your ex that he
or she has purchased required life insurance. |
| If you're paying child
support or alimony, get it set up so that
it happens as a routine. If you're paying through an income withholding
order (IWO), make sure you pay directly until the IWO kicks in. |
| Execute a new
will. |
| Live
more simply. |
| Consider an announcement. Susan,
fresh from her divorce, decided to send out an announcement to her friends
with her new name. It was for her a cleansing and healing act. She saw
it as declaring one chapter of her life closed and another wide open to
new possibilities. |
| If you're a woman living
alone after a lengthy marriage, there's some Guy
Stuff you need to know about. |
| If you're thinking about
dating again, even if you're not ready yet, there's
a page here for you on Dating After Divorce. |
