Dividing Money and Property Archives

Three tips for your property division

August 14, 2017 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Splitting up a life lived together is hard. After years of making financial decisions together, most families are a tangled mess of pre- and post-marital assets and debts. It’s no wonder that property division is a sticking point in so many divorce negotiations.

Every set of circumstances is unique, and yet I see enough couples make the same mistakes over and over. Would you like to learn from their experience? Then read on for three common (and expensive) missteps and how to avoid them. [Read more…]

Divorce Mistake: Using Money as a Weapon

March 6, 2017 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Orgami with a dollar bill in the shape of a gun. Anger, disappointment and hurt can cause good people to resort to using anything at hand to inflict damage on the spouse. Money is an inherently emotional subject, and over the years I have seen couples use it as a tool to measure their ability to “win in the divorce” or “take back what they deserve.” Most of them learn that using money as a weapon is not the best way to build the foundation of an independent life. Here are three reasons why. [Read more…]

How Not to Lose in a Divorce Deal: Drop the Dead Weight

February 27, 2017 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Property division in divorce A divorce is rarely a perfect situation that my clients look forward to. They may be anxious to get it over with, but the process itself can be tedious and riddled with complexity. Property division is one area where I often see couples make mistakes with life-long consequences.

Why does this happen? In my experience, the main cause of making bad property division choices is the combination of human emotions and lack of knowledge. Let’s address the ingredients one at a time. [Read more…]

How divorce after 50 may affect retirement

February 24, 2015 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Fact: 30% of divorced women over the age of 62 who are still single live at or below the poverty line, according to research by Susan Brown, a professor at Bowling Green State University who has chronicled “gray divorce” throughout the years.

If we were to compare that to married couples in the same age demographic, only 4% live at or under the poverty line.

I just did a piece for the Chicago Tribune and Janet Kidd Stewart on divorce and retirement benefits – and why I think collaborative divorce may be the single best decision divorcing couples over 50 can make. Aside from the fact that collaborative keeps your divorce civil, respectful and private, the process also works to address your immediate and long-term financial needs (including those retirement years). [Read more…]

Preparing to Negotiate a Divorce Property Settlement

October 2, 2014 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Individuals going into a divorce property division negotiation rarely understand how just a few details can have a substantial financial affect on their future. You can avoid bad luck by having a strong grasp on the nuances of property division. The quickest and most efficient way to get this knowledge is to work with a divorce financial adviser.

Be sure you hire one who is also a CPA. The income tax issues can be complex.
Look for a CPA who also holds a CDFA – Certified Divorce Financial Analyst because they specialize in divorce financial issues.
Tell your adviser everything about your property. If you are not a divorce expert yourself, you are not going to know which details are critical and which are not.
Ask your divorce financial adviser to work up a couple of property division scenarios. You need to see how various options affect your financial outcome.
Know that during negotiations you will need to compromise on something. Talk with your adviser about the effects of giving up on this or that option. Take notes.
Familiarize yourself with the mediation process.

Accountants Provide Financial Peace of Mind

September 23, 2014 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Divorcing couples struggle with the complex financial issues that come with their divorce. I find that most people who are going through a divorce are unaware of key bits of information that relate to their own financial situation. Failure to fully understand these details leads to major challenges in the divorce process and makes it difficult to arrive at a mutually agreed upon settlement.

You can solve this problem by working with a financial professional who specializes in divorce financial and tax issues. Look for a CPA with the added credential of a Certified Financial Divorce Adviser (CDFA). This article explains the advantages of having one of these professionals on your team.

3 Steps to Being Financially Smart in Divorce

April 19, 2014 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Being smart about you money before and during a divorce can make the difference between living a lower lifestyle and living your current lifestyle. There are tons of financial details to be aware of during your divorce. But if you nail down the basics, those details will fall into place more easily.

Basic Step #1: Be completely organized. Create logical files for all your financial information. Create a balance sheet – a list of everything you own and everything you owe and include copies of proof, such as mortgage statements, property tax statements and retirement account statements. Assemble the last twelve months of all credit card and bank statements. Being complete will save you time and professional fees down the road.

Basic Step #2: Hire a divorce financial advisor. Having a financial advisor on your team means that you will have an objective expert to see the things that your emotions block. To survive financially, you need to recognize the good news and the bad news. To recognize them, you need an expert to explain them to you. Much of the financial issues in divorce include little known gotchas. Don’t let those bite you.

Basic Step #3: Don’t listen to your friends. They have the best intentions, but they also are not experts in your divorce. If their claim to expertise is their own divorce, you are getting slanted advice. Your divorce is different. They are all different in quiet but crucially detailed ways. Be careful to avoid the wrong advice.

New York Times Divorce Tips

August 13, 2013 by Tracy Leave a Comment

The rich and famous are seeing the benefits of out-of-court divorce settlement. They have the money to slog it out in court, but in the past few years, more of them choose not to do so. Last Saturday in a New York Times article, columnist Paul Sullivan delved into the lessons we can learn from such famous divorcing couples as Rupert and Wendi Murdoch.

Mr. Sullivan interviewed me on dividing up assets in divorce. Specifically he wanted to know the best and worst ways people go about sorting out the money part of a divorce. He notes in his column there are four areas to be considered in a divorce: agreements, assets, children and fees. All these points apply not just to the rich and famous, but also to normal people like you and me. Near the end of the article, Sullivan quotes me on the advantages of collaborative law divorce in out-of-court settlements.

Low Cost Divorce

August 5, 2013 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Are you looking for a clean, quick divorce in Bryan/College Station that avoids expensive attorney fees? Your answer is the CPA-driven early intervention mediation. Another name for this is “let’s get it done without wasting money.”

Is this right for you?

You should seriously consider this option if you both answer yes to the following questions.

Are you both on reasonable speaking terms?
Do you both believe you can reach mutual agreements?
Do you both want financial advice about your property division and how it affects your future?
Do you want to arrange your settlement agreement to avoid income tax problems?
Are you ready to move at a quick pace?

Why a CPA mediator?

Attorneys are great with the legal issues, but not so great with the financial issues.

I met a disappointed ex-husband whose Bryan attorney hadn’t told him about the risks of not being able to buy a new home after the divorce. Had he known about this, he would have negotiated differently for the property settlement. He cannot qualify for a mortgage on a new home as long as his name is still on the mortgage tied to the former marital home. His ex-wife is in no hurry to refinance the mortgage.

A New York City divorce attorney found my website and has been calling me to consult on divorce cases. Last year I taught him about the Internal Revenue Code rules on alimony recapture. That kept his client out of hot water with the IRS.

There are many more financial issues that a divorce CPA mediator can identify during mediation. This expertise can help you avoid nasty post-divorce financial surprises.

Who writes the divorce decree?

Just as attorneys shouldn’t pretend to be CPAs, accountants shouldn’t pretend to be attorneys. After I help the two of you have a successful mediation on property and children issues, I recommend two reasonable attorneys who want to write your divorce documents. I pick these Bryan/College Station divorce attorneys carefully for their efficiency and their cooperative style. They will advise you on legal matters, but they won’t try to undo your agreement and burn through your savings account with large legal fees.

If you would like to know more about getting your divorce done without wasting money, ask me about mediating your settlement. Drop me an email at stewart@texasdivorcecpa.com.

Why Collaborative Law Divorces Save You Time, Money and Hassle

July 22, 2013 by Tracy Leave a Comment

The collaborative law divorce process is the preferred process of educated couples seeking divorce. Like you, they want to save time, money and hassle. These couples like the benefit of being able to make decisions with the help of experienced collaborative professionals. These couples like being in control.

Collaborative couples don’t have to wait for lawyer responses or court dates. They can wind up their divorce at their own pace. When they have obligations in their “real” lives, they can schedule team meetings around those events. Their professional team works around the couple’s schedules instead of the court dictating their schedules.

Most collaborative alumni tell me they are now communicating better than when they were married. This is because they selected a Mental Health Professional for their team who taught them how to effectively communicate as co-parents.

Collaborative couples select a single neutral CPA who understands their financial situation. The neutral financial professional analyzes the finances to maximize how the redesigned family will cover the children’s expenses and spousal support. The collaboratively trained CPA helps the couple decide how to stretch their limited funds to benefit the entire family.

If you would like to learn more about collaborative law divorce options in Bryan/College Station, just let me know.