Division of Assets in a Divorce. One of the most important decisions of a lifetime.
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™
Over the decades Max has practiced financial management in Durango, he has seen a number of clients who have experienced the process of divorce. From a financial perspective, instead of the planful "Ready, Aim, Fire (commit to the act)" it can often be an emotionally charged “Fire, (then) Ready, Aim, Gulp” process. After the divorce, once the dust has settled, the parties critically look at their budgets against their new assets and income landscape and then realize how dramatically their lives are about to change. In the past, that’s usually the point where as financial advisors, we have been invited to sit down with these people, and it's a painful place to parachute in to work with someone.
It’s clear the value that attorneys provide in the divorce process, and we knew there had to be a useful way to offer access to financial analysis much earlier as well. Max has completed the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA™) program through the Institute of Divorce Financial Analysts, which curricula effectively provides training on how to fit financial expertise into the divorce process.
We are also extensively trained in an alternative method of divorce to litigation known and practiced globally as Collaborative Family Law. The Collaborative divorce process is a facilitated course of meetings engaging the entire family with the goals to define the marital landscape, future possibilities for everyone involved and options on how best to achieve an outcome that serves everyone's needs given the family resources. The Collaborative Team of professionals, working with the family, draws expertise from collaboratively trained lawyers, facilitators, financial and other specialists as needed.
Litigation can be a very public, protracted and painful process for the entire family, and the parties are bound by the Judge's decisions. With Collaborative Law, parties can reach outcomes that are specific to their own families issues and how to best move toward workable, healthier outcomes that can last long into the future.
Most people's initial reaction to the notion of having to pay for a "team" of professionals is that it's going to be more expensive. Experience shows that litigious processes, especially if it's contentious, will often not only hire one financial professional to prepare the case for asset division, but the opposing side will also do so as well. Now you're not just paying for one but two financial professionals who do almost the exact same suite of data gathering, analysis, and reports.
To find out more about Collaborative Law, go to our local team's website using the link below and select a collaboratively trained attorney or facilitator for a conversation to answer any of your questions:
At Scholfield Wealth Management, Inc., we specialize in
- Asking a lot of questions to help the people we work with gain greater clarity for their past, present state and especially for their vision of the future life they would like to live; Consider this: When you have a hard decision; Flip a coin. Why? Because when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know what you're hoping for. It's surfacing these things for people that can help get past a lot of the sadness and pain they may be feeling about tough processes like this.
- Engaging clients in ideas and options sessions to gauge which ideas and options may work best.
- Leveraging the depth of our industry experience, and we are keenly aware that not all assets are created "equal". It's important to understand the details, or fine print if you will, associated with all the assets that may need to be divided. This was the primary culprit for the circumstances we described in the initial paragraph to this page.
- Modeling options for consideration using a powerful divorce financial software which then allows us to efficiently report out a family's financial decisions for presentation to the judge.
Overall Divorce Financial Consulting Services also include:
- Litigation Strategy Analysis: Throughout the process, we can analyze hypothetical financial settlement options to support negotiate the most financially advantageous settlements.
- Data Collection/Budgeting: To prepare the pre and post-divorce budgets and financial affidavits, and short and long-term needs analysis. We also help clients to understand short-term and long-term financial impacts of different proposals and the implications of different financial decisions.
- Evidence Presentation and Expert Witness Support: Max can be asked as a CDFA™ to present evidence to show financial impact of different settlement options or information related to tax, investment or retirement plan issues. We have the ability to produce reports, spreadsheets and graphs that can be used in meetings with the client, opposing parties, mediation sessions or for trial.
We offer a complimentary initial meeting to discuss your circumstances and where we may be able to provide value towards what you are looking to achieve.