Oh. Have I got your attention? I thought that that headline would do it. Sure, it’s a bold claim. It’s also 100-percent true. Allow me to explain.

This might seem like a silly question. “Are you over-taxing your clients?” You’re not a tax collector. You’re not the IRS. You’re a family-law attorney. And no, I’m not talking about “taxing” in the figurative sense, like “putting a burden on them.” I’m talking about good old-fashioned death-and-taxes taxes.

Divorcing women typically approach me with what you might call the Three Big Questions: What do we have? What do we owe? How much will I get?

I see it all the time. Family-law attorneys opt to bring me in to a case, as a financial expert, only when they “hit a wall” on something specialized, far downstream in the case. For everything else, they’ve “seen it all,” and “done it before,” and so all of that “basic” stuff is regarded as a do-it-yourself or DIY project.

Well, that certainly sounds ominous, doesn’t it? “Divorce is just the beginning.” Of what? Something better? Something worse? It could, actually be either. It’s a choice. And it’s up to you.

What do I charge for my services to help you navigate the financial side of divorce? How much will it cost you to get a pro?

As a family-law attorney, I know you like to get a sense of closure when you wrap up a divorce case. Once you get the decree, you’re ready, mentally, to move on to other cases.

But the bank account is in his name! I hear this from divorcing women all the time, who feel not only powerless, but penniless. Good news: The mere title of the account means nothing in the eyes of Arizona divorce law. His name might be atop the bank account. But if you were married, it’s community property. Half of that is yours.

Given my experience as a CPA, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional (not to mention a divorcée), I was recently asked, “Is there such a thing as a good divorce?” I didn’t even have to think about it. “No.” There isn’t. Every divorce is bad, is painful, is expensive. That said, there are ways that you can make a divorce “less bad”... with my help.