Can my attorney “bless” the financial aspects of a proposed settlement?
I want to make something really clear. I have a great relationship with lawyers, specifically family-law or divorce attorneys. We work together to help women like you get the best possible settlement.
That said, divorcing women, by and large, harbor painfully inaccurate assumptions about attorneys and what they do.
That’s what I want to talk about here.
An attorney is—no surprise—an expert in the law. But since divorce covers so much financial stuff, too, people assume—incorrectly!—that attorneys are financial experts as well.
They aren’t.
Don’t believe me? Ask your attorney. Or if you don’t have one yet and are still in the narrowing-down process, ask a prospective attorney. Put it to them directly: “Are you qualified to give financial and tax advice?”
Any good attorney won’t even blink. Unless they so happen to be a CPA or CFP®, they’ll say “No.”
If they don’t, look elsewhere for the financial expertise you need.
I’m a CPA, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional. I specialize in this. I also help you post-divorce, which doesn’t even fall under the category of “how your attorney can help you.” They don’t do future financial planning. It’s not part of their job.
Put it this way. If you tell your attorney, “I want to keep the house,” they will say, “Okay.” And they’ll work to do that.
But what if that’s not in your best long-term financial interest? It won’t even show up on their radar. Not without me.
Yes, I know that the house is an emotional attachment, and you’d love to pay down that mortgage. But you won’t be a married person in that house. And do you want to, say, trade off your retirement funds to do that? Equity in a house is nice, but it might not appreciate in value as much as an investment portfolio could appreciate—and that equity sure won’t pay for groceries. Let me help with post-divorce cash-flow issues like that.
Fear vs. confidence
You don’t want to chance big life issues like finances and taxes. You don’t want to fail to update all your paperwork, post-divorce—because I’m sure won’t want, say, your ex- to remain the beneficiary of your insurance policy or 401(k). Right?
Similarly, your tolerance for investment risk, as a single woman, is likely quite different from what it had been when you were one half of a married couple. Do you want to carry the same amount of risk that your ex- did?
Now look at the positive side. How great would it be to come out of all this, feeling confident, with a plan in place to produce the outcome that you want? Divorce needn’t rob you of all your dreams. I can help.
Oh, and what does all this cost? To be honest, my services invariably pay for themselves. I always find areas for improvement. Whether it’s in taxes, or pension or business valuation, the value I deliver exceeds the cost of my fees. And the more assets at stake, the more value I deliver. It’s pretty simple.
As I’d said above, I work great with attorneys. I respect what they do.
But I can help you in many ways that they can’t. So contact me today and let’s get you started on the right financial path.
