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Protecting Your Finances and Identity in a Divorce
You already know that you need to protect yourself from identity theft. This advice is doubly important when you are getting divorced, as unfortunately, too many times a revengeful or unscrupulous spouse will take advantage of you and either commit identity theft or financial fraud on your accounts.
All too often, when one spouse learns that you are thinking of filing for a divorce, they will go a spending spree, sticking you with a large debt. Even after a divorce is filed, your spouse may improperly use your credit cards or open up new loans in your names.
It is very important to protect yourself from your soon-to-be ex-spouse. Here is what you should do (and you should also consult with your attorney):
- Get Identity Protection. There are many companies that offer identity protection. For a small fee, they will implement identity protection to help prevent your spouse from taking out credit cards in your name or opening up loans in your name.
- Obtain your free credit report. You should be able to obtain a free credit report from one (or more) of the three credit reporting companies.
- Freeze your Credit Cards and Credit Reports. After you get your free credit report, you can then put a freeze on your credit reports and/or your credit cards. By placing a freeze on your credit report, this should prevent your spouse from obtaining new loans or new credit cards that would require a credit report to be run.
- Notify your existing credit card companies. With your credit report, you can notify your credit card companies and other creditors, by writing to them, that you will not be liable for any debts after the date of your letter. You don’t need to cancel your credit cards, you can simply freeze them or put them in inactive status.
- Alert your creditors of any fraudulent activity. If you see any fraudulent or suspicious activity on your credit report or on any future credit card statements, you must immediately notify and alert your creditors.
- Keep track of your credit cards. Before and during your divorce, it is important to keep track of your credit card statements.
If you are thinking of getting divorced, or you are in the middle of a divorce, it is very important to make sure that your spouse does not commit fraud or improperly use your credit cards.
If you need excellent legal representation for your divorce, call David Badanes and the Badanes Law Office, P.C. . David Badanes has represented and helped countless clients in their divorce and making sure that they are not the victim of identity theft. Cal David Badanes and the Badanes Law Office at 631-239-1702, email at david@dbnylaw.com or visit our web site: www.dbnylaw.com. The Badanes Law Office has offices in Suffolk County (Northport) and in Nassau County (Uniondale, across from the Nassau Coliseum).
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