It is important to remember that there are three types of expenses which should be given full consideration when you do your budget. First, there are one time expenses related to your separation from your spouse. Were you the one who moved out of the marital residence? Did you spend post-separation income or separate property in replacing furniture, paying a deposit on a rental property, or reestablishing yourself?

If so, pay close attention to these expenses, itemize them in a statement, and thoroughly document them for consideration in the division of the marital estate!

Second, you need to remember not only the common month-to-month expenses in your budget, but also the less common once-per-year expenses. for example, quarterly insurance payments, taxes, and annual automobile registrations. It is usually helpful to go through your expenses for the past year in determining your budget. In doing this, annualize any expenses and divide them by twelve to provide a monthly figure for these expenses.

Personal financial software such as Quicken and Microsoft Money are excellent for this purpose, and many financial institutions allow clients to download up to six months of past checking account, savings account, and credit card transactions directly into your computer's financial software via the internet. In this manner, you can have a detailed and accurate report of your expenses for the past several months in a matter of minutes!

One important point to make about your monthly budget is to be honest! Most parties to a divorce tend to under-represent their expenses either because they do not fully realize how much they spend throughout the year or they shave off expenses out of a misplaced sense of guilt or modesty.

The best alternative is to be honest with yourself and your attorney regarding your monthly expenses. If your actual, honest, budget is deemed excessive by your divorce attorney, he or she will surely advise you accordingly and help you modify your budget before it is presented to the court. If your budget is too low, however, your attorney may not even question it, and you may have difficulty making ends meet.