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.
I often find myself sitting in mediation with couples who are looking for guidance when it comes to creating a parenting plan. The beauty of mediation is that you can create a parenting plan that is going to work best for your children and your family. Quite frankly, it doesn't matter what everyone ...
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...
Divorces have a reputation for being messy and pitting couples at each other’s throats. Much of the controversy surrounding divorces stem from the allocation of assets and other financial concerns. You can reduce the associated stress when you use a Financial Neutral in collaborative divorce cases.
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Most of the time, when I sit down with couples preparing to dissolve their marriage, individuals assume that each account will be divided in half. Did you know that's not always the case? In states like Ohio, where the law requires an equitable distribution of assets in a divorce, it's important to ...
If you are a teacher going through a divorce in Ohio, this one is for you.
Teachers hold a special place in my heart. Early in my career, I was a teacher. I earned my Master's in Education and have made quite a few teacher friends over the years. My children have been blessed with wonderful teache...
It's common for clients to enter my office with misconceptions regarding separate property in a divorce and how assets should be divided. This confusion often arises from reading online articles without verifying the source. Remember, laws regarding separate property during a divorce can differ grea...
"Who gets the house?" is one of the first questions that comes up when couples start talking about divorce. In my more than 20 years as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, I have heard it thousands of times, and the honest answer is always the same: it depends.
The family home is not like other a...
If you’re going through a divorce in Ohio, spousal support is probably one of the biggest financial questions on your mind. Whether you’re the lower-earning spouse wondering how you’ll cover your living expenses, or the primary earner anticipating what you may be required to pay, understanding how a...
Divorce is one of the most difficult transitions a person can go through — and in the middle of the emotional weight of it all, you are also being asked to make financial decisions that will follow you for decades. That is an enormous amount to carry at once.
If your marriage involved a 401k (whethe...
If you have children and you're going through a divorce in Ohio, child support is probably one of the first questions on your mind. How much will it be? Who pays? Can it change?
I hear these questions all the time. And while Ohio does use a formula to calculate child support, calling it straightforw...
By the time someone asks me about a QDRO, they are usually already overwhelmed.
They are trying to understand attorneys, financial disclosures, settlement options, retirement accounts, taxes, and all kinds of paperwork they never expected to be dealing with.
So when the term QDRO comes up, the res...
