Category: Divorce 101
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Pre-Divorce Planning
If you are considering divorce, which is not just a deeply emotional decision, but also one of the largest financial decisions you will make in your life, you may feel like you want as much information as possible to help you discern if divorce is the best option for you. Before you file papers, I…
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Post-Divorce Checklist
1. Remove Your Ex-Spouse’s Name From Accounts Go through your accounts and be sure to adjust the registrations. Pay special attention to any accounts that will be reporting to credit bureaus and any financial accounts. Re-title any vehicles in your name alone. 2. Establish Your Own Financial Identity If you haven’t already, get a credit card in…
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Is Divorce Draining You? Here’s your pep talk.
Divorce brings a whirlwind of emotions, legalities, and life-altering decisions. It’s unfortunately also not a quick process – often times taking 1-2 years or more to finalize. You will hear that divorce is a marathon, not a sprint, and just like mile 20 makes runners want to collapse, people going through divorce often want to…
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Get Organized and Save Thousands
As a CDFA® professional, I am hired to help bring financial clarity to my clients. A big part of this is collecting documents and keeping track of what has been provided and what is still outstanding. Most clients send me dozens of documents with no organization, which means they are paying my hourly fee, or…
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Dangers of Hiding Assets in Divorce
I recently spoke at a Divorce 101 meeting for men. A prominent San Diego attorney was also there presenting about the legal side of divorce and had this warning to the attendees: DO NOT HIDE ASSETS. DISCLOSE EVERYTHING.
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Divorce Brain is Real
Divorce is an emotionally charged journey that affects every facet of your life. Amidst the turmoil, have you ever experienced what some refer to as “Divorce Brain”? If you haven’t heard of it, don’t worry – it’s a recognized phenomenon within the divorce professional realm. Let’s dive into what it means, why it happens, and…
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It Takes Two to Save Money in Divorce
While most clients aren’t thrilled about communicating with each other during divorce, both spouses typically have a shared goal of minimizing money spent on legal battles. The best way to do this is by working together to get your documents organized and come to the negotiating table with some reasonable ideas in mind.
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Divorce Process in CA – Steps 1 and 2
In California, there are 4 main parts of the legal divorce process, beginning with filing for divorce. This information is pulled from https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/divorce/start-divorce/file which is a great resource for Californians looking for more information about the divorce process. Of course, if you hire an attorney or mediator, these professionals will help you with this process.…
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Avoid These Tax Tragedies
All assets are not created equal. This is because of the tax consequences associated with different types of investments and the types of accounts that hold the investments. For example, in divorce, you wouldn’t want to offset home equity with a retirement account dollar for dollar. There are a couple reasons for this. Number one,…
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Prenups – They’re Trending
So you’ve DTR – defined the relationship – and you’re engaged! Congratulations! While you’re at it, before you get married, you may also want to DTM – define the money. Prenuptial agreements or “prenups” are a really smart way to protect the assets you’ve built. I spoke with a family law mediator earlier this week…