In Transition - Stacey's Story

Each divorce presents unique issues but our goal is to spend the time with our clients so they are educated and can make wise choices.  

We work with many divorced women in our practice.  Some we work with prior to their divorce and some we start helping after they have gotten divorced.  When we are working with clients post-divorce and they did not have financial support prior to the divorce, we know we will need to spend sufficient time getting to know them and their goals and educating them on their choices. Imagine a woman named Stacey who is looking for assistance after her divorce.

Stacey might have several concerns when she contacts us. Prior to her divorce she might have been a stay-at-home mom but needing income after the divorce she may have recently become a business owner.  She might be savvy with her own business but had not been very involved in the investment side of their family finances.  She likely needs some assistance sorting through the investments as well as coming up with a spending and investment strategy.  The following are some of the ways we could assist a woman like Stacey

1.  Many women receive shares of stock as part of the marital settlement agreement. This could be a common occurrence when executive compensation is involved.   In this situation, we might create a detailed spreadsheet to be shared with her ex-husband to validate the shares she should receive.  We then could also assist in reconciling what had been received.    Restricted stock and options are complicated to divide but even more difficult to reconcile because of the tax rates of the 2 parties.  We could provide support in reconciling the taxes between the 2 parties.  We likely would provide this type of support over several years as all of the shares vest. 
2. For woman like Stacey, we likely would create a spending plan/budget so that Stacey knew how much she was currently spending. This would help her understand if she needed any of her assets to fund her spending or if she would be ok with her maintenance and business income.
3. We might create a long-term financial plan projection so she could understand how much she needs to save as well as the impact to her when her maintenance and child support ends.
4. We could review her goals for College funding for her children and set up 529 education accounts for her.
5. As her business grows, we might consult on strategies for funding growth opportunities that become available.
6. We would also have an investment plan for her assets that allow for growth according to her overall goals and objectives and we continue to review and adjust as her needs change.  Providing education during this process is key to her feeling more confident with the strategy.