It is never too late to engage my services as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. Many times, people find that they need assistance with the initial documents that are required to be filed with the Clerk of Courts, including a Financial Affidavit and List of Mandatory Disclosures. It is important that these documents are completed properly and include all necessary information.
In many instances, a spouse may have reason to believe that the other spouse is purposely under-reporting their income, hiding assets, or otherwise altering their true financial position. In such instances, I have extensive forensic accounting skills to help determine what the truth is. This is typically known as the "discovery phase" of your divorce. Working with your attorney, we can Subpeona records from third parties to validate information.
Prior to going to court to settle your divorce, the parties are typically required to try and settle via a mediation session. Settling a case through mediation is much more cost-effective than going to court. Prior to a mediation, I work with my clients to put forth a financial settlement offer. This includes a proposed equitable distribution of marital assets and liabilities, along with alimony and child support considerations.
There are situations in which mediation results in an impasse, which means the parties cannot agree on how to resolve the divorce. In such instances, the final step is to go to court and have a judge determine how to settle the case. I am a designated Financial Expert Witness within the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in the State of Florida, and can provide pursuasive testimony to help you and your attorney prove your case.
It should be noted that it is very important to remember that you need to analyze not only what will happen in the immediate future, but how the results of decisions made today will impact you and your dependents in the future. This includes your immediate liquidity (cash and equivalents), your retirement accounts, your ability to live within your new lifestyle budget, along with your ability to increase your net worth over time. I take all of these factors into consideration whenever I prepare a proposed financial settlement.
An important aspect of the financial side of a divorce is where to turn for sound financial advice. Upon contracting for my services, you will receive a copy of the Divorce Survival Guide, which is published by the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts. The IDFA Divorce Survival Guide offers answers to the most common divorce questions, including filing for divorce, property division, child custody/support and alimony. The book also contains 19 useful checklists and worksheets to help ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.