This is a guest post.

The author, Camron Hoorfar is an attorney and the spokesperson of DebtConsolidationCare – the Internet’s get out of debt community.

Domestic violence has been prevalent in romantic relationships for a long time, and the problem continues to grow year after year. Every fourth woman in the US has experienced physical violence inflicted by an intimate partner, and this shatters their dreams of having a beautiful and perfect
relationship. Moreover, women aren’t able to speak out against this issue, mainly because they are stigmatized, and society tends to sweep such things under the rug.

When two people are in a relationship or living together, they tend to consolidate their lives, including their belongings, accommodations, preferences, plans, and finances as well. However, as soon as the relationship turns into an abusive one and it is time to leave, things can get quite complicated, especially since you have to untangle your lives from each other.

This article covers everything you need to do to protect your finances when you are leaving an abusive relationship.

Ways to safeguard your finances when leaving an abusive relationship

No matter how deep your relationship is, you can’t put it to the test when your partner starts to exhibit signs of violence on you. Not only does it harm you physically, but it also leaves mental scars that take a lot of time to heal. Therefore, the best you can do is to take everything belonging to you and walk away.

Let’s have a look at the steps you should take to keep your finances safe in case you need to end the relationship.

Always have a secret contingency plan

The moment you experience the first signs of abuse, you should start preparing for your escape. The chances are that your partner won’t let you just walk out the door with all your belongings and finances, and this is one problem most women in an abusive relationship face. Experts also call this financial or economic abuse.

Therefore, you should have a contingency plan for escaping whenever you need to, and it should include financial preparations and resources that can sustain you for a few weeks, especially if you have to find a place to stay or get off the grid for a while. There’s no telling how your partner will react once they find out that you have decided to leave, which is why you should keep your plan private.

Keep your financial situation in check

Often, women try to make things work as soon as their partner starts getting violent, and it mostly results in things getting worse. By the time things escalate, you don’t have any backup plan, or your finances aren’t even in check. You may have gotten a mortgage on the house or a loan for any other purpose with your partner.

If the loan or mortgage is under your name, then you would be stuck with paying it for a long time, and you would also be under debt. This would derail your plans of leaving the abusive relationship.

Therefore, it is best to take stock of your financial situation at the right time so that you don’t have to endure the mental trauma. Moreover, if you are stuck with a huge loan that needs to be paid, you may also have to think of ways to get out of debt . If you know your financial situation well, you will be able to take action early on.

Set up independent bank accounts

Usually, people in relationships get joint banking accounts and consolidate their finances, mainly because both of them think they are in it for the long haul. However, when things don’t seem to be perfect, and one of them has to leave to protect themselves, their funds are tied up in a joint account,
and their partner would neither let them or their money go.

Therefore, you should make it a point to keep your accounts separate, no matter how close or intimate you may be with your partner. If you can’t do this, you can set up an independent account secretly when your partner starts becoming abusive. Moreover, you can designate a family member or friend to look after the account or keep it hidden unless you really need it.
If you don’t have any money set aside, this would mean that you will have to stay in the abusive relationship a little longer while you gather everything you need for your wellbeing and escape. Taking care of these things proactively will save you from a lot of physical and mental trauma.

Get individual insurance policies

Another thing that partners often do is that they get joint policies for health insurance, car insurance, home insurance, etc. While this is a wise decision for couples who stay together for a long time, it isn’t beneficial for women who have to leave their abusive partners immediately. Most of the time, you are covered through health insurance that your partner gets from his workplace, which means that if anything happens to you after leaving, you will have to pay hefty medical bills.

To avoid this from happening, make sure to review all your insurance policies before you leave so that you don’t end up with zero insurance once you leave your violent partner’s house.

Summary

This brings us to the end of our guide on how to protect your finances when you are leaving an abusive relationship. Always remember that you don’t have to endure any sort of domestic violence, even if you
love your partner dearly. Therefore, you can save your money and take it with you as you walk out the door.

About The Author

Camron Hoorfar is a licensed attorney with experience in consumer debt, litigation, bankruptcy, tax, business laws, criminal laws, and non-profit organizations. He is also the spokesperson of DebtConsolidationCare – the Internet’s get out of debt community.