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.
When working through the financial details of a divorce, one option that may come up is whether to take—or offer—a lump sum alimony payment instead of ongoing monthly spousal support. While it’s not always the most pressing issue in divorce negotiations, it can be an important consideration, especi
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Last night, I was at my mom's house with my three kids. We were all sitting around watching a movie after dinner, and my ex and I were texting about the kids' schedule for Monday. I asked if he wanted to join us for the movie and to my surprise, he did.
Three years ago, when we were in the midst of ...
If you have found your way to my blog, I'm guessing that your marriage did not go as planned. Let's face it, in life, there are a lot of things that don’t work out as expected. One of the most challenging examples is when you enter into a marriage with the intention of spending the rest of your life...
A parenting plan should cover the regular schedule, holidays and special occasions, school breaks and sick days, travel, decision-making authority, healthcare, education, expenses, and how the two of you will communicate. The clauses people most often leave out, and later wish they hadn't, are the r...
Are you worried about splitting assets in a divorce?
Worrying over financial decisions is normal on an average day, but when going through a divorce, it can be paralyzing. Unfortunately, the fear around these issues is completely warranted. You only have one chance to get it right, and your divorce ...
Dividing pensions in a divorce can be confusing. For starters, some clients that I see are often confused (even after negotiating their divorce settlement) regarding what type of retirement account(s) they have. In this blog, I am referring specifically to defined benefit plans. Defined benefit plan...
Most women I work with did not call a financial professional the day they decided to divorce. They called months later, after the attorney, after the first ugly conversation, after a settlement proposal was already sitting on the table.
By then, a lot of the useful decisions have already been made....
Parenting is a tough job in the best of circumstances. Shared parenting after a divorce is a whole different ballgame. When I first went through my divorce, dealing with the most basic kid issues felt like preparing for battle with my ex again and again. It was exhausting. Quite frankly, I did not w...
A financial neutral is a financial expert, usually a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, hired jointly by both spouses in a collaborative divorce. They gather and organise the financial picture, model what different settlement options mean in the short and long term, and present that analysis to bo...
Bring three years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, and current statements for every bank, investment, retirement, and loan account, plus mortgage statements, insurance and annuity policies, Social Security estimates, and profit and loss statements for any business. Organise them in one place before...
Are you faced with debt and divorce?
Divorce can be scary but when you're faced with debt and divorce, it becomes even more complicated. Know that you are not alone. Many couples find themselves knee deep in debt and have no idea what to do with it in their divorce. The best option for shared deb...
One of the questions I hear most often is:
“How do I know if my spouse is hiding money?”
Sometimes that question comes with a very specific concern.
Maybe a bonus suddenly disappeared. Maybe a business is involved. Maybe bank statements have become harder to access. Maybe your spouse’s lifestyle ...
