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.
A divorce mediator and a CDFA do different jobs. The mediator facilitates the conversation and helps you reach agreements, but does not analyse finances or give legal advice. A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst models the tax, cash flow, and long-term consequences of the options on the table. Coup...
Divorce touches every part of your life: your finances, your parenting, your daily routine, your sense of self. And while you might have an attorney handling the legal side and a therapist helping with emotional healing, there's a gap between those two roles that can leave you feeling overwhelmed, s...
I need to tell you something that might sound counterintuitive when you're in the thick of divorce:
This isn't a battle to win. It's a puzzle to solve.
I know that feels wrong when emotions are running high. When you feel betrayed. When your attorney is talking about "leverage" and "positioning." Wh...
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...
This post is written for divorce attorneys and other professionals. If you are going through a divorce yourself, our guide to collaborative divorce and mediation is a better place to start.
When a CDFA and a divorce attorney work a case together, the client gets a settlement that is documented accu...
Online divorce mediation works the same way as in-person mediation, over video instead of in a room. A neutral mediator facilitates the conversation, screens are shared so you can see the agreement being built in real time, and sessions can be scheduled outside standard office hours. For most couple...
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...
If you find yourself currently contemplating the possibility of getting a divorce, it's crucial to ensure that you are well-prepared for the journey that lies ahead. Going through a divorce can be an emotionally challenging and complex process, but with the right preparation, you can navigate it mor...
"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...
