Compassionate Financial Guidance
Before, During & After Divorce.
Our Mission
We value walking through the divorce process in a manner which is dignified, private and without catastrophic loss to a family’s finances. We have personally walked through divorce ourselves – some of us softly, and some of us in long, litigated battles. We get it. It is awful. Our mission is to help others in our community avoid the same mistakes we did and shine in the areas we shined in our divorces. Divorce is tough. Why make it tougher with costly and time-consuming mistakes? We use our experience and our professional knowledge to help our clients move from married to single in a softer, gentler, and more informed manner. We do this because we know how hard it is and we want to use our experiences to help others.
We understand one of the biggest issues in divorce is the financial part of it. Time and time again we hear divorce litigants state they are scared they will not have enough money to live after the divorce. This is a real fear, and we validate you! We can help you work through this difficult time. We can help you understand the marital estate, negotiate the best settlement for you and help you with after divorce cash flow needs and financial planning.
We have been there. We get it and we are here to help you! Schedule a complimentary phone consultation with us today to get started on your divorce financial planning.
Welcome to Divorce Strategies Group Transcript
Welcome to Divorce Strategies Group. I’m Denise French, creator of Divorce Strategies Group, and I’m glad you’re here. We offer financial guidance before, during and after divorce. For those facing divorce, but not yet in the process, we can help you understand what might happen with your financials. Quite often, pre-divorcee litigants walk into our office with a rough idea of what they own and the income that they garnish and the income that their spouse garnishes. With that information, we’re able to tell you what a 50/50 division might look like for you financially. We’re able to roughly tell you here’s what you could afford, here’s what it would look like if you stayed in the home, here’s what it would look like if you sold your home. If you’re working, we’ll be able to tell you if you can afford the current lifestyle that you’re in right now, or if not, how much more money you would need, or maybe you’re able to garnish income from the assets that you have. All of these are informational items that we can provide to you with the data that you bring into our office. If you’re not yet in divorce and you want help understanding a little bit more about financially what may happen to you, we’re a great place to stop.
We also offer alternatives to traditional litigation. If you look at our divorce services, click on the mediation tab and click on the collaborative law tab before you decide to enter a traditional litigation.
For those of you who are already in the process of litigation, we offer quite a bit. We quite often work as a financial expert in cases providing marital tracing, separate property, and community property tracing.We also offer business valuation expertise. On the other side of that, we offer general financial advisory guidance to those in the divorce process. If you would like help on the financial side specifically, we quite often walk alongside litigants and their family law attorneys providing financial advice during the divorce. Quite often, we sit in mediation with you, as you’re trying to determine what assets you should take, and which assets you’d be willing to give up. We can help you understand what that means for you in the future next month, next year, and 20 years down the road, and really help you work through cashflow and estate planning in the mediation process before you sign any paperwork.
That’s how we help you before, how we help you during, and then how we help you after the divorce. The fight is over. You’ve been awarded a set amount of assets, but they’re not maybe yet your assets. You still have to go through the process of taking the assets that belong to your soon-to-be ex-spouse, or you jointly with your soon-to-be ex-spouse and making them your own, and then figuring out how to invest them and whether or not you need income from them today, or if you can let them sit and grow. That process is all about post-divorce financial planning and guidance and we certainly offer that. If you’re closer to retirement, this is critical because now it’s about how much income you can garnish from the assets you’re awarded. And that is certainly something we can help you with.
Whether you are pre-divorce, during the divorce, or after the divorce and want financial guidance, we would certainly be happy to help you. If you’ll click the button that says schedule a call, you’ll be linked to my calendar, and we’ll be happy to do a 30-minute complimentary consultation with you to discuss your needs and your wishes. Thank you. Have a nice day.
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE BEFORE DIVORCE
Are you just in the beginning phase of the divorce process or even still contemplating it? Has your husband mentioned he is not happy and is starting to withdrawal? This can be daunting and scary. We understand!! Now is the time to start collecting as much information as you can. The more information you have – the more power you have. Gather anything you see in the home with a dollar sign on it – even if you do not know what it is. Scan it, save it, and keep gathering.
We have found rent houses, girlfriend BMW’s purchased by husbands, CD’s and other assets just by old tax forms laying around the house. If you do not know it exists, you cannot divide it. Gather as much as you can – even old information! Call us today to schedule a complimentary consultation to help you understand what to look for.
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE DURING DIVORCE
Now that you are in the midst of the divorce process the estate may be coming together so you can clearly understand what you have, and division options become more transparent. This part of the divorce process will dictate what type of lifestyle you will have in the future. The estate decisions are critical because there are no take backs in this. Once decisions are made and you have signed off on them, there is no going back. Estate divisions are one and done. It is critical to implement planning in this phase of the divorce.
Should you take a lump sum or spousal support payments? Should you fight for the retirement accounts or keep the house? Should you take the house? Are you going to be able to afford to live where you are now, or do you have to move? If you do not want to move how do you negotiate spousal support in Texas where it is not easy to receive in court? Do you need to work? What about taxes? Where will your health insurance come from and how much will it cost?
There are many decisions to be made during the negotiations phase with the financials and we can help you. In this phase we review the estate and give you options. With those options, we create post-divorce cash flows for you with different scenarios. We will also help you clarify where you want to go from here and help you build a vision for your future.
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE AFTER DIVORCE
As painful as this divorce may have been, you were given a “do over” button. You have a blank canvas in which to color your way, with your wants and your wishes and your needs. (And you also get the entire closet and never have to deal with him in the bathroom again. Bonus!) What do you want your life to look like? What would give you joy and happiness? If you have kids, how do you navigate being a single mom? What resources can you use to help you? We have personally dealt with these same questions and we can help you thrive as we have. We did it, so can you!!
Not only do you get a do over you have your own financial estate to begin to build. As financial advocates, this is where we can help you with a realistic plan for your future. We build cash flow systems, help with investments (through French Financial Group) and help you plan for your future. Whether you are dealing with an overwhelming stress of working again, now as a single mom or if you are living free from a bad marriage for the first time and enjoying it – we can help you plan for financial freedom and a bright future.
No matter which phase of divorce you are in – just starting, in the midst of it or wrapping it up – having a solid financial game plan is critical. Call us today for your complimentary consultation to get started.
Divorce Strategies Group Introduction Transcript
Welcome to Divorce Strategies Group, I’m Denise French, Founder of Divorce Strategies Group. I founded Divorce Strategies as a result of my own divorce, which happened in 2006. It was a very difficult process and a very expensive process, and my desire was to create a firm where other people can do this in a more economical, smarter way.
In my experience, there’s two basic types of divorce. There’s the softer, gentler divorce, which is definitely the preferred route if you’re the one getting divorced. Then there’s the truly litigated cases where you just can’t get along and there’s going to be a fight. We offer financial for both types of divorces. If you and your spouse are able to talk and communicate in any form or fashion, we encourage you to look at either collaborative law, where we work as financial experts, or early intervention mediation. In mediation, you’re the one in control. We work with family law attorneys who are also mediators, who work on the children’s issues and the legal portion. Then, we are financial mediators helping you create an estate and a win-win scenario for each of you complete with post-divorce cashflow, projections, and tax issues with the divorce. If you find yourself in the latter category where it’s just going to be a fight, we can help you as well. And our hearts go out to you, that was the type of divorce we had, and we understand. In those divorces, we often walk side-by-side with your family law attorney working as your divorce financial advisor. This is very different than traditional financial advisory work, as we do that as well. With a divorce financial advisor, it’s very specific to the laws regarding divorce in divorce finance. We also help with tracing forensic accounting and business valuation, but for those who feel like they want an equalizer at the table, when you’re dealing with financial issues, this is the place to go.
Please look around our site. We have weekly vlogs and blogs that we offer with different types of information on divorce finance, cooperative divorce, collaborative law, and how to divide your estate and the different rules that apply around estate tax and estate finance. We also have special seminars that we do both for women and for men. We have an on-demand webinar for men called Wise Guys Guide to Divorce. There’s a legal portion and a financial portion. In addition, we offer seminars on a fairly regular basis for women called Wise Woman’s Guide to Divorce. We hope you find that helpful and wish you all the best.
What Our Clients Have Said
“Denise has been a great resource for mediation only business valuation which can often be prohibitively expensive. I am thrilled to have a fantastic resource to refer to other professionals.”Nancy Hetrick
What Our Clients Have Said
“I’m so glad I met you and can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for all of us. I appreciate you so much!.”Sharon R.
What Our Clients Have Said
“You’ve done so much more than help me through my divorce. Thank you.”
Molly P.
What Our Clients Have Said
“Denise helped me with my finances after divorce. It was so comforting to have someone good walk me through this so I could get on with my life in peace.”
Tracy K.
What Our Clients Have Said
“Thank you for helping us walk through the mediation process. It was not fun but we were able to get through it quickly without spending a fortune.”
Chris C.
What Our Clients Have Said
“Denise helped me put it all together. I was overwhelmed with the different accounts and how to handle finances after. She helped me with all of this.”
Chris C.
What Our Clients Have Said
“Denise helped us walk through the mediation process. I’m so grateful we didn’t experience a long fight. We were married over 25 years. I’m glad we are not married and still friends. “
Patricia L.
What Our Clients Have Said
“This group is great for support and financial information when going through a divorce. They will help you analyze what you have and advise how to get where you want to be. I have been divorced for nearly five years and I still go to them with my financial needs. One of the best outcomes from being in a hard place was finding this group. “
Kerry M.
What Our Clients Have Said
“The staff at Divorce Strategies Group provide a service that is second to none. Divorce is a time of confusion, emotion, and uncertainty for all parties involved. Divorce Strategies takes the time to assist in moving from a process that can become entangled in placing blame as the primary focus and replaces that with a process that allows both parties to move forward with their lives in a productive manner. “
Michael A.
What Our Clients Have Said
“Divorce Strategies Group has been a Godsend through my divorce. Denise helped us with the division of assets and has assisted me with my financial situation after the divorce. Her knowledge of finance was invaluable in dealing with the division of retirement and pension plans. She was the mediator for us during that process of the divorce. She has been wonderful to work with and i highly recommend her for financial advice during and after the divorce process. “
Lana M.
What Our Clients Have Said
“The best decision I could have made during the most difficult point in my life. Divorce Strategies Group specializes in mediation agreements as opposed to the traditional divorce route where a judge decides what is fair. Denise is a neutral third party that helps you and your spouse negotiate a divorce settlement as opposed to fighting over who gets what. In my case, She took her time to get to know both myself and my ex husband. She looked at where we were financially and emotionally, then set to work on an agreement we could both be happy with. Not only was this process much less expensive, it was also better choice for our children. Although painful, we didn’t end our marriage hating each other because we were forced to fight it out in court. It’s unfortunate that anyone has to experience the trauma of divorce, but Denise certainly made the process more bearable. “
Melissa A.