Divorce Financial Advice

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Divorce involves complex financial decisions that will impact your future for years. From asset division and pension valuation to tax optimization and settlement strategies, you need expert guidance to protect your financial interests.

What I Do: I provide comprehensive financial analysis and strategic guidance for individuals, attorneys, couples, and mediators. This includes valuing marital assets, analyzing settlement proposals, optimizing tax outcomes, and ensuring your agreement actually works in real life.

Why This Matters: Financial mistakes in divorce are expensive and often permanent. The right financial strategy ensures you get a fair settlement that supports your long-term goals rather than just looking good on paper.

Complex assets like investments, pensions, businesses, and rental properties require expert financial analysis regardless of how you're approaching your divorce. Whether you're in litigation, mediation, or collaborative divorce, structuring a fair settlement that avoids tax pitfalls is crucial.

What I Do: I provide financial expertise across all divorce processes - litigation, mediation, and collaborative divorce. This includes asset valuation, settlement analysis, tax impact modeling, and cash flow projections to show exactly how proposed agreements will affect your future.

Why This Matters: Each divorce process has different dynamics, but they all require the same financial rigor. Having expert financial analysis ensures you make informed decisions whether you're negotiating in mediation, working collaboratively, or preparing for court.

Retirement accounts require a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to divide them properly in divorce. Without this court order, you can't access your share of 401(k)s, pensions, or other qualified plans—and you risk major tax penalties if you try.

What I Do: I coordinate the QDRO process to ensure accurate division of retirement benefits. This includes calculating benefit values, working with plan administrators, and structuring distributions to minimize taxes and maximize your access to funds.

Why This Matters: QDRO mistakes are costly and time-consuming to fix. Getting it right the first time protects your retirement assets and ensures you can access your funds when you need them.

Understanding your true financial picture requires more than looking at bank statements. I analyze spending patterns, trace money flows, and uncover the financial story of your marriage.

What This Includes:

• Detailed analysis of household expenses and spending patterns
• Investigation of undisclosed assets or hidden income
• Documentation of standard of living for support calculations
• Cash flow projections for post-divorce budgeting

Why This Matters: Accurate financial analysis ensures fair settlements and realistic post-divorce planning. It also provides the documentation your attorney needs for effective negotiation.

Executive compensation packages create complex divorce challenges. Stock options, restricted stock, deferred compensation, and performance bonuses require specialized financial analysis to avoid costly mistakes.

Key Questions We Answer:

• Are these assets marital property?
• How do we value unvested options and restricted stock?
• What are the tax consequences of different division strategies?
• How do these affect support calculations—as assets, income, or both?

Why This Matters: Executive compensation mistakes are expensive and often irreversible. The wrong approach can cost hundreds of thousands in taxes or leave you with illiquid assets when you need cash flow.

Our Analysis: I provide expert valuation of complex compensation packages, determine optimal division strategies, and model tax impacts. This ensures your settlement maximizes value while minimizing tax consequences.

Your divorce decree is just the beginning. Implementing your settlement and building your new financial life requires ongoing expertise and support.

What We Handle:

• QDRO implementation and account transfers
• Asset consolidation and account setup
• Estate planning updates through our partner Lylac Estate Planning (wills, beneficiaries, powers of attorney)
• Insurance coverage review and adjustments
• Long-term wealth building strategy

Our Partnerships: Through our wealth planning affiliate, UPSTREAM Investment Partners LLC, and our estate planning partner, Lylac Estate Planning, we provide comprehensive financial planning that takes you from settlement to long-term financial security.