Divorce is never a pleasant topic and given the current economy, there seems to be a lot more divorces in the works. Whether you are married or unmarried (common law) relationships — not to mention businesses, commingled funds, children, real estate, and shared belongings– there is a way to make divorce less adversarial, brutal and improve or build the framework for communication that will allow couples to split up and move on beyond the anger and frustration of the split and build their own lives knowing that they can communicate with each other with common courtesy and not out of anger.
The way to avoid the sky-high attorney fees, the anger and finger-pointing is to go through divorce mediation and establish a collaborative divorce where both sides learn to communicate with each other and learn to accept the process of divorce without raking their partner through the fire of divorce. This process of collaborative divorce is so crucial particularly if you have children, business or real estate involved — and even your own sanity is involved. It decreases the pain to a degree, it definitely decreases the financial impact and also maintains a framework if children are involved.
Where does one find this sort of mediation? Who does one turn to? Stephanie Maloney is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst in L.A. Divorce Solutions. This company provides a framework that allows you to get a grip on the finances and work out a more amicable settlement and end the marriage without making the process so adversarial.
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Here’s something from her site L.A. Divorce Solutions that best explains what she and her partner do:
Though many attorneys and mediators lack formal training in accounting and financial planning, they are expected to negotiate financial settlements in divorce cases that have both short and long-term tax and financial impact on their clients’ lives.
As you work on your financial settlement, too often, what appears to be equal can eventually leave one of the parties in deep financial distress. To maintain even a modest lifestyle, the lower income-earning spouse may be forced to spend savings and other assets just to survive.
We are recognized as experts in financial aspects of divorce and can work with you, your attorney, your mediator and your other advisors to construct an equitable divorce settlement that can provide lifetime financial security. The professional designations we have earned, include: Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Certified Public Accountant/Personal Financial Specialist (CPA/PFS).
We can:
Help stabilize the immediate financial situation
Accurately calculate financial needs and ability to pay
Recommend strategies to minimize taxes
Analyze alternative divorce settlement scenarios
Determine the short and long-term financial impact of proposed settlements
Provide valuable information on tax and financial issues
Help make sense of proposals
Provide expert witness testimony in trials and arbitration
Provide attorneys with the tools they need to help prove their caseYou can save time, money, and – most of all – reduce your anxiety.
How the Financial Mediation in Divorce Process Works
Meet. During our initial meeting, we discuss your immediate and long-term financial needs, concern, and objectives.
Discover. We provide an efficient process to gather and record your financial information. We identify your assets, debts, income, and expenses along with potential tax, insurance, retirement, and other financial issues.
Analyze. We provide personalized schedules of all relevant information; prepare long-term cash flow, net worth, and alternative property division projections; and examine the after-tax effect and long-term consequences of all proposed settlements.
Review. We meet with you to evaluate reports and answer questions in language you can understand.
Recommend. We provide information and advice to help you make prudent, workable decisions.
Report. We consult with you, your attorneys, and other advisors, as needed, and prepare reports that document your settlement agreement.
Follow-up. We monitor the transfer of assets to insure that your property division is consistent with you settlement agreement
Sounds pretty encompassing doesn’t it? There’s a lot more on Maloney’s site that provides the information that you might want to see or need.
