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Divorce Strategies Group

Denise French

Archives for January 2023

High Stakes, High Net Worth:

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Why hiring a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst can make or break you

By: Melissa Provence CDC,DCC

When it comes to divorce, more than emotion has to come into the equation. High net worth couples can have a particularly difficult time. They have saved all their lives and now face losing a portion of those savings. When it comes to dividing high net worth estates, a highly skilled Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) is one of your best lines of defense.

Planning for more than tomorrow:

Oftentimes fiscal decisions are thrown to the wayside due to the emotional effects that divorce can have on a couple. The role of a CDFA is to look at your estate with more than a short-term band aid to get you back on your feet. They work with you during and after your divorce to help you make financial choices when best serve you now and in the future.

Many clients have never dealt with investments like 401K’s, RSU’s, and pension plans. These are complex investments which can greatly impact your retirement. What are the tax implications down the road when dividing the assets awarded to you in your divorce? Does a 50/50 split become a 70/30 split when considering tax effect on your estate? These fact sets are often presented to the client so they can make sound financial decisions.  A seasoned CDFA will take an all-encompassing approach to assist you in making wise financial choices.

CDFA’s Role in Your Divorce:

You may be wondering why you wouldn’t just use a financial planner. CDFA’s are often financial planners who also have specialty training and experience working in the divorce financial realm.

CDFA’s will work with you to organize and help you understand your finances. Collecting years of financial data, researching separate property, and division options for the estate.

Let’s not forget parenting after divorce. Who is paying for college? What will child support look like? What about children’s car expenses? These and others are topics a CDFA can review with you, your mediator, and your attorney.

Dissolution of a marriage, not your net worth:

At Divorce Strategies Group, we do divorce differently.  Denise French founded the company in 2014 after her own divorce disaster. She had spent a six-figure price tag and a few years of her life trying to close one chapter and begin a new one. After she was divorced, Denise desired to build a company based on creating a better divorce experience. She is highly trained in the areas of high net worth divorces, divorce tax, separate property tracing, executive compensation in divorce, and pension plans. We don’t just facilitate the last stages of the negotiation. We walk with you every step of the way.

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Why Choose Mediation Instead of Court?

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A mediator is a completely neutral third-party expert who assists the parties in coming to their own resolution to a dispute. An effective mediator will have experience both with the process of mediation itself as well as with the specific issues involved in your case.

Why would you choose to use mediation when you could instead use the traditional litigation process for your divorce?  There are numerous advantages of mediation over court, and not all of them are obvious at first glance:

(1) Mediation is quicker. Court dates are often postponed or could be inconvenient for the parties involved.  In mediation, you get to schedule the time the mediation session occurs, and the process can move much faster than a traditional litigated divorce.  At Divorce Strategies Group our mediation process is usually complete within 60-70 days. 

(2) In court the judge’s decision is binding. Contrasting, in mediation, you have a say in the outcome and nothing gets decided without your consent.  At the end of mediation if an agreement is reached, a Mediated Settlement Agreement (MSA) can be signed which is binding upon the parties.  Each party agrees to the conditions and signs voluntarily. 

(3) Mediation is typically much cheaper than court.  At DSG we charge a flat fee for mediation services and the attorneys we coordinate with typically charge lower rates than they would with traditional litigation.  While each party will have competent counsel at DSG in our mediation process, the overall time required by the attorneys in our mediation process is less and therefore the fees are typically less.  

(4) Court involves “discovery” procedures where each party forces the other to make information available in advance of the court hearing. Mediation can involve more reasonable and limited information sharing.  At DSG, unless otherwise requested, we only ask for what is in the estate currently.  In contrast, in litigation often years of statements are requested and then must be reviewed, which takes time and costs money. 

(5) You can research potential mediators and select one who has a specific skillset and style that appeals to you. Some mediators are facilitators while others will suggest solutions.

(6) Since the other side has agreed to mediate with you and helps create the settlement, they are more likely to comply with the agreed settlement terms after mediation. 

(7) Parents can draft agreements which work for their children instead of following the traditional, cookie-cutter plans of the court system.  In our mediation process at DSG, each party discusses their needs and wishes for the children with a family law attorney who then helps the parties craft agreements which both follow the law and fit the family’s needs.   

What are the next steps? Schedule a complimentary 30 minute consultation with Divorce Strategies Group to discuss mediation and what options in general may be best for your family.