The Intentional Divorce Library
Divorce comes with more financial questions than anyone expects. This is where you'll find real answers on asset division, budgeting, retirement, and the mistakes that quietly cost women the most, written by a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst who has helped clients navigate exactly what you're facing now.
No fluff, no fear tactics. Just the information you need to make clear-eyed decisions and protect the life you're building next.
Not sure where to start?
Every article here is written for a particular moment. Start with the stage that matches where you are, and you will find the handful of pieces that actually apply to you.
- I am considering divorce. Can I afford it, what happens to the house, what should I know before talking to an attorney.
- I am preparing for divorce. Documents, credit, insurance, retirement accounts, and choosing your professional team.
- I am going through divorce. The house, support, dividing retirement, QDROs, taxes, and evaluating a settlement.
- My divorce is final. Retitling assets, confirming the QDRO, beneficiaries, rebuilding cash flow and credit.
Browsing by topic instead? Every category is listed in the sidebar, from QDROs and the family home to co-parenting and life after divorce.
Rebuilding After Divorce
Going through a divorce can leave your finances feeling completely upended. Suddenly managing two households instead of one is costly, regardless of your income or the terms of your settlement. If you're struggling with money after a divorce, you're not alone—and there is a...
Looking for FAFSA tips for divorced parents? In many of my divorce cases, how college expenses will be handled is an issue that needs to be addressed. It's common for parents to wait to divorce until their children are teenagers or young adults. This tends to be around the same time that people are ...
A co-parenting schedule works for the school year when both households run on the same basic rhythm: consistent bedtimes and homework routines, a shared calendar both parents can see, duplicate supplies at each house so nothing has to travel, and a written agreement on who pays for what. Settle the ...
Talking to your kids about divorce is one of the hardest parts of the whole process.
You are managing your own emotions while trying to find the right words for theirs. You want to be honest without overwhelming them. You want them to feel safe and loved even as everything around them is changing...
Preparing for an impending divorce is more than just picking up the phone and calling an attorney. There are the emotional aspects, financial, legal, and, of course, there are parenting issues. It means figuring out what life is going to look like when it's all said and done and includes preparing y...
Helping kids through divorce comes down to four things: keeping conflict with their other parent away from them, telling them the truth at a level they can hold, keeping their daily life as predictable as you can, and getting support for yourself so you are not processing your divorce in front of th...
To keep your emotions from running a mediation session: turn up rested and fed, know in advance which topics set you off, focus on the facts when you feel yourself escalating, ask for a break before you need one, listen actively enough to repeat back what your spouse said, and keep your long-term pr...
Child support rarely covers everything. Activities, braces, phones, camp, tutoring, and the car all sit outside the basic support calculation, and they are where co-parents end up arguing years after the divorce is final. The fix is specificity: name the categories in your agreement, decide how each...
I stayed in my house when I got divorced. At the time, the housing market had declined so much that we had negative equity in our home. Selling our house would have put us in a worse financial situation than keeping it and we had three young children. Keeping them in the house gave them some stabi...
Co-parenting after divorce means raising your children jointly with your ex while living in separate households, with both parents staying actively involved in decisions, schedules, and daily care. It works best when both parents choose it deliberately: keeping a consistent schedule, communicating d...
If you are wondering how to keep your house in a divorce, you're not alone. A lot of my clients have sentimental attachments to their homes. You've made memories there. It's where you raised your family. You may have close relationships with your neighbors or other strong ties to the community.
Eve...
A Roth Dollar and a Traditional Dollar Are Not the Same Dollar
If a Roth IRA sits on your marital balance sheet, look hard at it before you trade it away. A $100,000 Roth IRA and a $100,000 traditional 401(k) look identical on a spreadsheet. They are not worth the same money. The Roth has already be...
