Dad's Divorce: co-borrowing

Every week, Dan Danford provides advice to men going through the divorce process on Dad's Divorce.com. The advice, though, applies in most situations. You can watch his latest podcast below.

This week's question from a viewer: My girlfriend will be living with me paying me a small part of the rent for my new home in cash each month. So will she be considered a co-borrower and thus have her credit score reviewed?

Gore divorce will affect their finances

When a couple divorces, their financial picture changes drastically. It can be a fight to the finish for every last dollar. In the case of Al and Tipper Gore, it appears the divorce is amiable, and that would suggest that the property and money will be divided in a more rational way than is typical.

We spotted this piece in WalletPopper.com that explains their divorce and how it will affect their finances, which we think is good to post because it is easy to follow and helps explain the financial side of divorce (any divorce, really).

Have a look at the story here:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/06/02/an-inconvenient-divorce-how-al-and-tipper-gores-finances-will/

Dad's Divorce: integrating finances

Most couples don't give enough thought to how to integrate their finances. For someone who has gone through a divorce, this is probably something they think through quite a bit before remarrying - and it's far more complicated than two young folks getting married for the first time. On Dad's Divorce this week, Dan Danford discusses how to integrate two people's finances. You can watch the podcast below.

Untangle home ownership during divorce

Each week, Dan Danford answer a question from a reader. We'd love to have a question from you. Please post it in the comments section.

QUESTION: I am going through the divorce process. We’re trying to separate our finances. I’m staying in the marital home, and my husband is leaving. What is the best way to make the house mine and remove his name from the mortgage? Do we have to refinance? Is there anything else we need to do to make sure the house is only in my name?

ANSWER FROM DAN DANFORD: Your lawyer should be able to help you with this. \The divorce decree should detail who owns what, then it's just a question of changing registration to match the decree. Home ownership is shown by a deed filed with the county recorder (could be slightly different in your state). In any case, a new deed should be filed removing your spouse, and changing registration to the way you want it. The lender needs to be aware of this change, too.

All these divorce-related registration issues are very important. That's why you should rely on your attorney to help. The worst-case scenario is that you don't make the changes, and then get brought into an ex-spouse's future lawsuit or credit problems. Don't forget to change beneficiary designation on life insurance or retirement accounts, either. Several years back, I saw a sad situation where a man was killed in a motorcycle accident. He'd never changed his life insurance beneficiary, and the proceeds went to his ex-wife, although he had remarried. There's no need for a mistake like that. Just go through the various statements, accounts, and records to assure that necessary changes get made. And, of course, the easiest time to do that is when the divorce is fresh. This is much several years later when both parties have moved on.

Latest Dad's Divorce post: Rules for families with children

Dan Danford does a regular podcast for Dad's Divorce on money issues for those in the midst of divorce, but much of the time, his advice works for anyone who needs sound financial advice.

The latest installment can be found here:

http://tinyurl.com/kpy4gn

Resources for those getting a divorce

We're delighted that writer Geoff Williams caught our e-newsletter about our affiliation with Dad's Divorce - and happier still that he decided to expand upon it and find more sites that help people through divorce.

Geoff's post on Walletpop.com went live this morning. You can read it here:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/05/21/breaking-up-is-less-hard-to-do-with-divorce-related-websites/

Life insurance revisited

Life insurance is one of life's essentials, particularly for those who have children. I've been doing podcasts now for a while for the Dad's Divorce web site, which I encourage you to visit, particularly if you're facing a divorce.

Here's a link to the podcast if you'd like to learn more about life insurance.

http://www.dadsdivorce.com/blog/Money-Made-Easy-Do-I-Need-Life-Insurance-.html

Advice for those in debt

I have recently started offering commentary and financial advice on the Web site dadsdivorce.com, which provides advice for men who are going through the divorce process or who are divorced. Money can be one of the trickiest issues for anyone to manage. It is an emotional issue, at times, as is divorce, and the two intertwined can be extremely confusing. In this segment, I discuss managing debt in a way that I hope is easy to follow. It's solid advice for anyone - not just a man going through a divorce. You can watch it here: http://tinyurl.com/bhu27p