Skip to main content

Financial Planning in Divorce


We work with many clients, both individuals and couples, who are going through the difficult process of divorce.  We help them understand their current financial situation, what they have, and how various decisions, pursuant to the divorce, may affect their financial future. 

I just met with a gentleman yesterday who is going through the divorce from his wife of 24 years.  This meeting made me think of the common advice which we give to clients going through a divorce, over and over again, which is as follows:

1.) Understand your current financial situation and get it in order.  What assets and liabilities do you have?  What are the account numbers and values?  How do you contact the financial institution?  What assets or liabilities were brought into the marriage and kept in separate name?  Make a list of all your assets and liabilities (debts) and how they are titled.

2.) Review your credit report.  Many clients are shocked when we review their credit report with them and they find out that there are debts they knew nothing about.  It is typically a good practice to review it early in the process as well as six months to a year after the divorce is final to ensure that all the post divorce debts were titled the way in which they were intended and that there aren't any new debts which were created without your knowledge.

3.) Create joint household and individual budgets.  It is impossible to know how various settlements scenarios will affect you financially if you do not know how much you spend, on what.  It is also impossible to get your future financial house in order if you do not have a plan to get there!

4.) Do not take financial advice from your attorney.  Attorneys know the law, however, many of them try to practice as financial advisors as well.  Get your legal advice from your attorney and your financial advice from a Certified Financial Planner who focuses on working with clients going through a divorce.

5.) Make sure to change your beneficiary designations to reflect your wishes and the divorce decree (if applicable) as soon as the divorce is final!   Having ex-spouses listed as the beneficiary on your retirement plans and insurance policies, when this was not ordered by the court or intended, leads to significant estate settling issues should you die without making these changes.

White House Financial & Settlement Consulting helps families live easier and less stressful lives through the proper management of their financial resources.  We do this by acting as our clients’ trusted advisor providing a personal touch customized to the client’s needs!  Please visit our web site at www.whitehousellc.com for more information!

Popular posts from this blog

COVID will not stop us providing unique settlement solutions using structured settlement annuities!

I hope that you are doing well! We just FINALLY completed the settlement of a case for a minor (age 17) that we were initially engaged by our plaintiff attorney client in February 2021, to provide structured settlement annuity quotes! Although the claimant was very close to the age of majority the key to the case was not giving him all of the settlement proceeds, which was over $120,000, at age 18. Having been in this business for over 20 years I cannot tell you the number of sad cases we have witnessed where the young claimant receives their settlement proceeds at age 18 only to blow through all the funds before anyone can blink and make bad decisions with the proceeds! This case involved two liability insurance carriers Liberty Mutual and Member Select. We coordinated multiple rounds of document revisions and had to have a separate set of different documents for each insurance carrier. In addition, one of the carriers would not fund the annuity until we had a fully executed court ord
Post a Comment
Read more

Using a structured settlement annuity pre-suit

 We recently were engaged by the Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) in the case of an 11 year old boy who was struck by a care while riding his bike.  The father of the boy settled the case directly with the liability auto insurance carrier pre-suit and the GAL contacted us to ensure that the boy's settlement funds were handled appropriately. The case settled for a total of $65,000 and $59,000 was being allocated to the structured settlement annuity for the boy as follows: $5,000 paid immediately upon settlement $10,000 at age 18 $20,000 at age 21 $25,000 at age 25 $35,718 at age 30 this is total benefits of $95,718! The annuity was placed with a large life insurance company rated A+ by the A.M. Best rating agency and provided the family and GAL with the peace of mind that the young man would not receive the entire amount at age 18. In addition, due to the use of the structured settlement annuity, all of the interest gained during the payout period ($31,718 to be exact) is INCOME TAX FREE!  T
Post a Comment
Read more

9/17/2023 Weekly Market Performance

  Here is our research department's Weekly Market Performance analysis.  If you have questions or need anything else please contact me at (734) 272-4322 or cyril.white@fourfinancial.com  U.S. and International Equities Markets Mixed The major markets ended mixed this week as the utilities and consumer discretionary sectors led while information technology lagged following Apple’s challenges in China.  Developed international equities posted solid gains this week as European stocks have witnessed their largest gain in six months after the European Central Bank (ECB) signaled an end to its hawkish monetary policy. Next Wednesday, the Federal Reserve meets concerning monetary policy and interest rates.  We believe the Federal Reserve should highlight underlying improvements within the inflation dynamic. In addition, we believe the Fed will not likely declare victory but will probably highlight the risks to growth and inflation are getting into balance. According to the AAII Sentiment
Post a Comment
Read more