44 articles on the financial side of divorce. Settlements, retirement accounts, the house, taxes, and the questions worth asking before you agree to anything.
Your $500K settlement might only be worth $340K after taxes. Here's how to calculate the real value and catch tax traps before you sign.
Read →Online divorce settlement calculators give you "paper fair", not real fair. Learn what calculators miss, why your settlement might be lopsided, and how a CDFA reveals the hidden taxes, liquidity gaps, and costs.
Read →The house feels like security, but the numbers rarely support it. See the real costs, and when keeping it actually makes sense.
Read →A CDFA reveals 5 financial red flags hiding in your divorce settlement, the ones attorneys aren't trained to catch. Check your numbers before you sign.
Read →Should you keep the house or retirement accounts in divorce? A CDFA runs the numbers, real tax math, 10-year projections, and the gap most people miss.
Read →Your settlement looks equal. After taxes, penalties and liquidity differences, is it? A CDFA explains the gap between paper fair and real fair.
Read →Fifteen financial items to verify before you sign, covering pensions, Social Security, healthcare and taxes. The list matters most after 50.
Read →If the marriage lasted ten years you can claim on an ex-spouse's record, and it does not reduce theirs. Up to half at full retirement age, less at 62.
Read →Gray divorce threatens your retirement timeline. Learn what actually changes, how to protect your assets, and what's still salvageable after 50.
Read →The 5 biggest financial mistakes men make in divorce, and how to actually get a fair settlement. Written by a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst.
Read →After 50 the mistakes are harder to undo, because there is less time to earn back. Retirement, pensions and the tax traps to catch before signing.
Read →Gray divorce financial mistakes cost $100K+. A CDFA reveals 7 costly errors people over 50 make in divorce, and how to avoid them before you sign.
Read →Three professionals, three different jobs. Which one handles your divorce money, which handles the law, and why hiring the wrong one costs you.
Read →Hire in the wrong order and you pay a lawyer to collect documents. Who comes first, what each one actually does, and what each costs.
Read →Hiring one, not becoming one. Full engagements run $1,500 to $5,000, or $150 to $400 an hour. What that buys, and what skipping it usually costs.
Read →Three roles, three price tags, and an order that saves money. What each one actually does in a divorce, and who you should call first.
Read →A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst runs the numbers your attorney does not. What the credential means, what they charge, and when to bring one in.
Read →Most states divide marital property by what a court considers fair, not equal. How both systems work, and why an even split is not an equivalent one.
Read →Discover how to find hidden assets in divorce. Learn where spouses hide money, what documents reveal everything, and what red flags to watch for.
Read →A QDRO is the order that actually splits a 401(k) or pension. Most people learn they need one after signing. What it does, and the 5 costly mistakes.
Read →Complete divorce financial checklist with every document you need to gather. Get specific, actionable steps before talking to lawyers or mediators.
Read →The first 90 days set the tone for everything after. The exact roadmap, from securing your financial foundation to preparing for negotiation.
Read →Secure your documents, separate your accounts, and avoid the costly mistakes, before you agree to anything. A step-by-step playbook from a CDFA.
Read →A CDFA-backed 90-day plan for stabilizing your income, building new credit, and creating a financial plan that actually works.
Read →27 tasks to protect your money, rebuild your finances and establish independence after divorce. The complete post-divorce checklist.
Read →Gray divorce recovery takes different strategies than divorcing at 35. How to rebuild your finances and your retirement from here.
Read →Divorced after 50? The real steps: retirement catch-up, credit rebuilding, income strategy, and the decisions that actually matter from here.
Read →Learn how to build a realistic post-divorce budget on one income. Real numbers, actual expenses, and the decisions that'll keep you afloat, from a CDFA.
Read →Overwhelmed by your finances in divorce? What documents to gather, which 4 numbers matter most, and when to bring in a CDFA.
Read →If leaving feels financially impossible, the problem is usually missing numbers, not missing options. How to build the picture before you decide.
Read →The 5 numbers you need, what staying actually costs, and how to get clarity fast. A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst walks through each one.
Read →Your rights, your fair share, and the 6 steps to take before you file. From a CDFA who went through her own divorce.
Read →Retainers, hourly billing, and what actually runs the meter. Most of what you pay is decided by how the case is run, not by the rate you agreed.
Read →Filing yourself removes the largest visible expense. Whether it saves you money depends on what the agreement is worth, and nobody is checking that.
Read →An uncontested divorce is far cheaper to process. That says nothing about whether the agreement is a good one, and that is where the real money is.
Read →Legal fees are the number people research. The settlement itself is usually larger, and it never shows up on an invoice. Four real examples.
Read →Cut divorce costs without sacrificing your settlement. Learn the insider strategy that saves $10K-$100K in legal fees and tax mistakes.
Read →Online calculators give you a figure with no tax, no duration, no end date. Here is what actually determines the number you can plan around.
Read →Filing costs, attorney fees, hidden expenses, and the biggest cost nobody calculates: the settlement itself. A CDFA breaks down the real numbers.
Read →Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin. The list is the easy part. What each statute requires is not.
Read →Residency rules decide where you can file. The state you file in decides which property statute governs your settlement. Those are two different questions.
Read →Forty-one states divide property equitably, not equally. In several the statute demands an equal split more firmly than Texas does. What it means for you.
Read →Only nine states are community property, and being on the list matters less than people expect. What your state's division statute actually requires.
Read →It depends on your state and whether you can still trace it. Some states protect premarital property outright. Others put it straight in the marital pot.
Read →17 episodes. One financial guide. Recorded by Leanne Ozaine, CDFA, who went through her own divorce after 25 years of marriage. These aren't scripts. These are the real conversations she has in her office about settlements, taxes, retirement accounts, and the financial mistakes smart people make.
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