Financial squabbles between married individuals sometimes lead to marital breakups. Unfortunately, divorce can bring on a whole new slew of financial issues. Still, if people who are getting divorced understand how to handle their finances, including any investment accounts they have, they can feel empowered during the divorce process. Here are some tips for tackling investment accounts during divorce in Pennsylvania.
For starters, it may behoove divorcing individuals to ask their particular investment companies how to go about splitting the money in their joint accounts, as different processes exist for different types of accounts. As an example, two divorcing parties may jointly own a brokerage account. In this case, they typically have to write a letter asking that the company close this account then create two new accounts for the two parties.
Still, not all kinds of investment assets can be transferred. Also, even if a jointly held investment asset can be liquidated, liquidating it may not be the wisest thing to do. The reason for this is that liquidation may result in penalties, fees and taxes.
An attorney in Pennsylvania can help an individual who is going through divorce to determine how best to split investment accounts and other types of marital assets during the divorce process. Then, the attorney can assist the client in achieving a fair and comprehensive settlement agreement that reflects the client’s best interests financially. The attorney will take the necessary steps to make sure that the client’s rights are protected during all phases of the divorce proceeding.
