Breaking up: the practical side

The list adapts to you

Answer the questions and only the items you need stay on the list. Your answers carry over to the app and the file.

• Were you living together? NoYes

Items on the list: 18 of 18 · Show all

Work through the list in order. Hide the notes when you know what to do.

1. Sort out the lease or mortgage Yes

   Who stays, who needs to be formally removed from the agreement, and by when — notify the landlord or bank in writing.

2. Agree a moving-out date in writing Yes

   Even informally, by text — a concrete date closes the uncertainty better than an open-ended 'sometime soon'.

3. Split joint accounts and subscriptions

   Close or convert joint bank accounts, remove each other as authorized card users, cancel shared subscriptions.

4. Update beneficiary designations

   Life insurance, retirement accounts — if they were named there, it's easy to forget and costly to notice too late.

5. Change passwords everywhere the other person had access

   Email, cloud photos, banking, smart-home devices — go through the whole list, not just the obvious ones.

6. Remove shared device and location access

   Smart lock codes, cameras, location sharing, shared calendars — check everything they had access to during the relationship.

7. Sort out shared purchases and debts

   Who keeps what, who pays off what — get the agreement in writing, even just a text or email trail, for both your protection.

8. Agree how to divide belongings before moving day Yes

   Decided in advance, not mid-move when half the boxes are already packed and decisions get made in the heat of the moment.

9. Put a shared pet agreement in writing

   Including any understanding about visits, if that's the plan — specifics head off disputes later.

10. Update your emergency contact info

    Work, doctor, gym, insurance — anywhere they were listed as your contact.

11. Update your address if you're the one moving Yes

    Bank, work, subscriptions, voter/residency registration — the same list as any regular move.

12. Cancel or transfer joint memberships

    Gym membership, a family streaming plan, an insurance policy — don't leave them on autopilot renewal.

13. Put a parenting arrangement in writing if you have kids together

    Even informally at first — formalize it sooner rather than later if this isn't temporary.

14. Consider whether legal advice is needed

    Joint property, kids, or a marriage usually warrant at least one consultation, even in a fully amicable split.

15. Update your will and power of attorney if they were named there

    Easy to overlook if the document was drawn up a while ago — check it now.

16. Tell mutual close contacts what they need to know practically

    Landlord, close friends, family — at your own pace and level of detail, with no obligation to explain more than you want to.

17. Check joint travel bookings and tickets

    A trip, event tickets, reservations for two — cancel or reassign before deposits are lost for good.

18. Keep records of any financial agreements made during the split

    Screenshots, emails — protects both of you if a disagreement over money comes up later.