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.
Yes, women pay alimony. Alimony (spousal support) is gender-neutral, and a court can order either spouse to pay it based on financial need and ability to pay, not gender. Pew Research found that in 2022 wives were the primary or sole breadwinner in 16% of U.S. marriages and earned about the same as ...
An intentional divorce is one where you decide in advance how you want to move through the process, rather than reacting to whatever happens next. In practice it means choosing your process before conflict chooses it for you, gathering the financial facts before you negotiate, deciding which outcome...
The core difference is who is in the room. In collaborative divorce, each spouse has their own attorney and a team of professionals works together toward a settlement, with everyone signing an agreement not to litigate. In mediation, one neutral mediator facilitates and attorneys are optional. Colla...
Divorce asks you to make some of the biggest financial decisions of your life at the exact moment you feel least equipped to make them. I've watched that play out for hundreds of women, and I've lived a version of it myself. The good news is that managing your money during divorce doesn't require yo...
Over the past few years I have been a guest on dozens of podcasts, talking with attorneys, mediators, coaches, and therapists about the financial side of divorce. This page collects those conversations in one place, grouped by what each one is actually about.
Looking for shows to subscribe to ins...
During mediation, a CDFA builds the complete financial picture and stress-tests every proposal against it. That means analyzing assets and debts, working out how retirement accounts and pensions can actually be divided, identifying the tax consequences of options that look equivalent on paper, model...
Navigating the divorce process can often feel like a turbulent, confusing, and uncertain storm. Amid the whirlwind of emotions, it's easy to overlook a critical lifeline that can guide you towards calmer waters - financial stability. Financial stability, specifically taking control of your investmen...
One of the most complex aspects of divorce is the division of assets, particularly when it comes to protecting your inherited money in divorce. Inheritance, often steeped in sentimental value and of significant financial worth, is a treasure worth guarding. The way forward is paved with knowledge, s...
Embarking on the path of divorce requires strategic financial planning to achieve a successful settlement. As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA), I have witnessed the transformative impact that well-informed financial decisions can have during this process.
In this blog post, we will navig...
If you are divorcing a narcissist, you already know that this is not a normal divorce.
Normal divorce is hard. Divorcing a narcissist is something else entirely. The manipulation, the gaslighting, the hidden assets, the refusal to settle reasonably, the way they can make you question your own memory...
Divorce after 50 is not just a legal and financial event. It is a life earthquake.
You are dismantling a life you built over decades. Your social circle may split. Your identity as part of a couple changes overnight. The future you planned together suddenly needs to be rebuilt from scratch — on you...
Your divorce is final. You made it through.
Now comes the part nobody warned you about — the long list of practical things that need to happen before your new life actually starts. Accounts to close. Documents to update. Insurance to sort out. A budget that reflects your real life now, not the one y...
