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Navigating Divorce

Redefining Your Independence

Redefining Your Independence

Although divorce attorneys can assist with the legalities of your separation, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) professional can help you understand the financial ramifications. Wherever you are in the process of separating from your spouse, we can effortlessly step in and work with your other advisors, such as legal or accounting professionals.

You deserve to know all the options available to you and be armed with the knowledge to make the best decision for a stable financial future. It’s our job to help you better understand the financial complications of divorce and avoid costly mistakes. We’d love to help you. Click here to schedule a short call.

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Divorce Planning Services

As financial professionals with experience on divorce cases, we help with the creation of financially-sound settlement options to protect your interests and help support your position in what can be a contentious situation.

While not a pleasant topic, it is a reality. The statistics show that 45-50 percent of first marriages and 60-67 percent of second marriages are expected to end in divorce. No one wants to be one of these statistics, but if you should find yourself in that position, it is important to take care of yourself both emotionally and financially. 

Source:www.institutedfa.com  

A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) Is Specially Trained To:

At Independent Financial Services, our staff is professionally qualified to help you prepare financially during this difficult time.  Jeannie Holliday, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) is specially trained to:

  • Serve as a financial advisor on divorce cases
  • Present powerful data to back up an argument
  • Offer financially-sound settlement options
  • Scrutinize the financial concerns of your divorce and present you and your attorney with powerful information to support your case.
Additional Critical Issues That Can Be Addressed:
  • Personal vs. marital property
  • Valuing and dividing property
  • Retirement assets and pensions
  • Spousal and child support
  • Splitting the house
  • Tax problems and solutions
  • Tax law and financial issues affecting divorce
Certified Divorce Financial Analysts®
The CDFA® designation comes from The Institute for Certified Divorce Financial Analysts™ (IDFA™). The IDFA™ is the premier national organization dedicated to the certification, education and promotion of the use of financial professionals in the divorce arena.  
Who Do CDFAs® Help
CDFAs® help clients determine the short-term and long-term financial impact of any proposed divorce settlement. They also provide valuable information on financial issues that are related to the divorce, such as tax consequences, dividing pension plans, continued health care coverage, stock option elections and much more. A CDFA® also assists attorneys by helping the client make financial sense of proposals. CDFAs® give lawyers the tools they need to help prove their case.
Should a Divorcing Person Hire a CDFA® Instead of a Lawyer?

You will still need an attorney to represent you during the divorce. We highly recommend that you seek legal counsel when going through a divorce.  A CDFA® professional’s role is to assist the lawyer.

Do CDFAs® Help Only Men or Only Women?
As CDFAs®, we have worked with both men and women understand the financial impact of their divorces. We have experience working with men and women and would love the opportunity to help you, too.
Can CDFAs® Act as a Neutral Party to Help a Couple Reach a Settlement?
Like many CDFAs® we are trained mediators able to take a role in facilitative mediation or collaborative divorce. We are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice. We recommend that you receive independent legal advice if you are going through a divorce.

Source: www.institutedfa.com

Collaborative Divorces

The “No Court” Divorce Option

Collaborative Divorce is a new way for you and your spouse to end your marriage amicably, without involving the courts. Collaborative Divorce replaces the adversarial and combative legal system with an approach that permits people to resolve their disputes respectfully and without the hostility and anger caused by many divorce proceedings.

In a Collaborative Divorce, each party works with their own attorney so that they have the support, protection and guidance that only an attorney can provide. But then the parties and their attorneys pledge to work in a collaborative and cooperative manner to find and implement solutions to the various disputes the parties may have in their individual case.

Also, the parties can use joint experts, such as financial professionals, mental health professionals, and children’s specialists to assist in helping everyone work together as a team to dissolve the parties’ marriage without litigation.

A Collaborative Divorce has three basic principles:

  1. A pledge not to litigate the case.
  2. The honest exchange of information by both spouses.
  3. The search for a mutually acceptable solution that takes into account the priorities of the parties and their children.

Mutual respect, civil communications, and mutually-acceptable solutions are fundamental to the collaborative approach to divorce. When respect is given and received and when the parties approach the dissolution process looking for a “win-win” solution, then negotiations are often more productive and agreements can usually be reached more easily.

As a member of the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay, Jeannie Holliday is qualified and ready to pull together a team of professionals to work with you on a Collaborative Divorce.

Let us help you put everything into perspective during the divorce process.

Why Hire a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®
  1. Financial analysis conducted early in the divorce process can save time. The average length of the U.S. divorce process is one year. In the beginning stages of the process, both parties spend a great deal of time trying to get a clear understanding of the financial aspects and terminology of the separation. A CDFA® can explain all financial aspects of the pending decisions and help to empower their client to make educated decisions throughout the proceedings.
  2. A CDFA® can help you save money during the divorce process. By using a CDFA®, you will have a clearer view of your financial future. Only then can you approach a legal settlement that fully addresses your financial needs and capabilities. CDFAs® can educate their clients by providing a thorough knowledge and understanding of the often-complicated financial decisions.
  3. A CDFA® can help you avoid long-term financial pitfalls related to divorce agreements. Working with a client and their attorney, a CDFA® can forecast the long-term effects of the divorce settlement. This includes details of all tax liabilities and benefits. Financial decisions must be made that not only take care of immediate family needs, but retirement needs as well.
  4. CDFAs® can assist you with developing detailed household budgets to help avoid post-divorce financial struggles. A CDFA® can help you think through what the divorce will really cost in the long run and to develop a realistic monthly budget during the financial analysis process. Expenses such as life insurance, health insurance and cost of living increases must be taken into consideration when agreeing on a final financial settlement.
  5. Using a CDFA® can reduce the amount of apprehension and misunderstanding about the divorce process. Misinformation and misconceptions about the divorce process can be detrimental. Many people have false expectations that they will be able to secure a divorce settlement allowing them to continue with their accustomed style of living. Financial divorce analysis helps to ensure a good, stable economic future and prevent long-term regret with financial decisions made during the divorce process.

Source: www.institutedfa.com

Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.

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