Interesting Info You Can Read Over a Single Cup of Coffee!

New: Settlement Assurance Review

For every time you’ve been faced with a complex case—such as one with a lump-sum spousal-maintenance payout, or a complicated asset mix with hidden tax implications—and told your client, “You should talk to your tax or financial advisor,” I have a new service for them… and you.

It’s simple. When you and your client are considering a settlement, I can review it from a financial-expert perspective, for a nominal fee, and “bless it” (or not) before you go to court or mediation. The Settlement Assurance Review scrutinizes your client’s divorce settlement terms before finalization, providing:

• Equitability analysis: A detailed evaluation to ensure the proposed settlement terms are fair and well-balanced.

• Tax impact assessment: Identification and explanation of any potential negative tax implications.

• Risk mitigation review: Detection of any hidden financial risks or liabilities that could impact your client’s financial well-being, post-divorce.

During these reviews, I often discover hidden negative tax implications and other undesirable outcomes and risks that would be detrimental to your client. This can significantly reduce your liability exposure, while giving your client added confidence, and making you look even better in the process!

By partnering with us, you can confidently assure your clients that their financial interests are fully protected and their settlements optimized for both fairness and financial clarity.

Contact me and I can help you easily get your clients started with this.

Does financial stability predict marital stability?

There’s a profile of people I serve, in my wealth-management practice, that I call “slow and steady savers.” You could even call them “lovably boring savers”: these are the people who, as you’ve likely guessed by now, have spent their lives carefully squirreling away their earnings in order to ensure a comfortable retirement in the future.

But what happens when you throw divorce into this mix?

Let me weigh in on this. In my experience as a divorce financial advisor—after all, I’m a CPA, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professional, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst^® professional—I’ve seen pretty much every point on the financial-risk spectrum.

Mars, meet Venus

Ever hear of that old book, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus? I was reminded of that title while preparing to write this article. Because I’ve found that divorcing couples, as “lovably boring” as they may have been financially, are not as magically paired as you might assume. It’s only when the marriage starts to dissolve that it becomes clear which spouse was the more “lovably boring” of the two.

Think about that. During the course of the now-failing marriage, generally one of the spouses provided the security and the financial guard-rails to keep everything on track. With the divorce, that’s going away.

The biggest factor here—and the one that can’t get recouped in any settlement—is time. Sure, you can talk about the “lost years” of a marriage. But I’m talking about compounding interest! People who start saving early will simply accrue more wealth, even if the late-starter puts in the same amount of money—or more. You just can’t buy back those years of compounding. (Yes I’m over-simplifying here, but you get my drift.)

In my experience, being financially responsible adds to the stability of the marriage… and the reverse is true, too.

And this gets back to “which spouse will be financially riskier, post-divorce?”

Building a budget

I’ve seen husbands who have set the guard rails for their otherwise-free-spending wives—and then seen those wives in desperate need of a financial plan, going forward.

This is where I can really help them—and you. Spousal maintenance, as you know, is time limited. (There’s “time” again!) And I’m an absolute fiend when it comes to making a case—and helping you make a case—for the longest possible spousal maintenance. The goal is to not only get that woman back on her feet, but also to negotiate a settlement that will provide a reasonable lifestyle for her whole life.

That might sound simple, but it’s not. Arriving at “magic numbers” requires a ton of complex financial modeling based on lots of different factors—everything from equalizing the values of different types of property to computing the tax implications of issues such as cash-vs.-IRA’s. This isn’t attorney stuff. It’s numbers-obsessed CPA stuff.

It’s “let her be able to have a decent house and afford groceries vs. simply looking good on paper” stuff.

Let me map that out for her—and for you.

Contact me today and let’s talk.

AFI service

Seeing how often improperly-completed AFIs can frustrate attorneys like you, I’ve created an all-new service: I’ll help your divorcing-women clients complete their AFI, within one week of getting the supporting documents (bank and credit-card statements, etc.). And I’ll do it for them for a flat fee of just $495.

So they—and you—will have a good, solid AFI that opposing counsel can’t poke holes in, for a flat fee, in fast time.

Contact me today to get started!