The Wall Street Journal recently published an article with some sound tips on planning for divorce, with the article's main argument embedded in its headline -- "How to Plan for a Divorce: Getting Married Can Be Expensive, but Try Getting Unmarried." The article begins by noting that September is one of the most common months for couples to initiate divorce proceedings, and then takes on some serious financial food for thought. The article covers some of the hidden costs of getting divorced … [Read more...]
Contractual Alimony: A Powerful Tool in Settling Estates
This article is from Richard D. Soat, a San Antonio-based financial professional with BDO (a professional services firm providing assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services) and a board member of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas. The opinions expressed on this site are Rick Soat’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of BDO USA, LLP. Typically, we think of alimony as something that an ex-spouse pays to another ex-spouse to help her (or him) through the first few … [Read more...]
Helping You Find Options: Why a Financial Planner Can Help You Divorce Smarter
This article is from Richard D. Soat, a San Antonio-based financial professional with BDO (a professional services firm providing assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services) and a board member of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas. The opinions expressed on this site are Rick Soat’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of BDO USA, LLP. When it comes to divorce, many people lead with their hearts and not their heads, and it’s easy to see why. Divorce is often a … [Read more...]
Making a Budget: The First Step to Financial Well-Being
This article is from Richard D. Soat, a San Antonio-based financial professional with BDO (a professional services firm providing assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services) and a board member of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas. The opinions expressed on this site are Rick Soat’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of BDO USA, LLP. One of the hardest things I have to do when I’m serving on a collaborative divorce team is to help people deal with the financial … [Read more...]
Sound Advice from CNBC on “Avoiding Divorce Settlement Blunders”
A recent article on CNBC's website caught our attention, echoing advice that collaboratively-trained lawyers give clients weighing their divorce options. Though every case is different, preparing for and going through litigation is often the more costly option for divorcing couples. In fact, the article -- themed around the idea of "avoiding divorce settlement blunders" -- labeled "taking a case to trial when you don't need to" the first of four pitfalls that divorcing couples create for … [Read more...]
When Is Spousal Maintenance Treated Like Child Support?
One of our favorite financial experts, Jeffrey B. Thomas, J.D./CIMA®/CDFA®, a Dallas-based Certified Private Wealth Advisor and Financial Advisor with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., has provided us with a resource helping to determine when spousal maintenance is treated like child support. This handy guide (available on the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas site for download) details the tax ramifications between the two. As he notes, "The IRS allows the parties considerable leeway … [Read more...]
The Story of the $7.4 Million Divorce (A Cautionary Tale)
This article is from Tracy Stewart, a financial professional based in College Station specializing in collaborative divorce, and a Collaborative Law Institute of Texas board member, whose credentials include CPA/PFS/CFF, CFP and CDFA. Collaborative divorce lawyers keep telling me that I cannot go around telling people they will save money in a collaborative law divorce. I get it -- there are no guarantees, and every case is unique, and therefore, it's prudent not to create unrealistic … [Read more...]
How Your Divorce Can Expose Your Political Contributions: A Cautionary Tale
This article is from Tracy Stewart, a financial professional based in College Station specializing in collaborative divorce, and a Collaborative Law Institute of Texas board member, whose credentials include CPA/PFS/CFF, CFP and CDFA. Until recently, I never truly understood the big deal about keeping a divorce out of the court records. Maybe that’s because I am just a bean counter. I had a hard time imagining why anyone in their right mind would slog through someone else’s old divorce records … [Read more...]
What Divorcing Couples Should Know About IRS Publication 504
People looking for information on divorce, particularly collaborative divorce and divorce in Texas, can go to a particularly helpful page on the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas website, featuring a number of resources for divorcing couples in Texas. The latest of these comes from Jeffrey B. Thomas, J.D./CIMA®/CDFA®, a Dallas-based Certified Private Wealth Advisor and Financial Advisor with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. He's contributed to the blog in the past, and in his latest … [Read more...]
The New Divorce Demand: “You Keep the House”
This blog article is from Jeffrey B. Thomas, J.D./CIMA®/CDFA®, a Dallas-based Certified Private Wealth Advisor and Financial Advisor with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. “Getting the house” – once the most coveted prize of a divorcing couple – has become a recession-era issue for divorcing couples. Excess loan to fair market value challenges, insurance costs, reduced liquidity, increasing utility costs, maintenance considerations and undesirable neighbors all force divorcing … [Read more...]
