I am confused. Is he asking the we do a DIY legal separation agreement with some professional input on financial stuff? Not get any legal advice? Not use a mediator (which is what he wanted to do in January)? I don't understand.
I am not sure what he is asking, but it sounds like yes, maybe he wants to see a financial consultant of some sort to just work out the money? Better clarify again and mention mediation/L's specifically.
Originally Posted By: flowmom
Alice, it sounds like you went to such a person with your H...any insight as to how a financial guy would play a role in this?
So, here's what I know about processes here, what I've been told.
In a collaborative or mediated divorce, it's possible and recommended as part of the process (but not required by law or anything) to see a financial consultant in addition to your L's to work with you specifically on the money projections (budget), etc. They may advise on how taxes will come out with the new 2 households, what benefits you might get from claiming the children on one of your taxes, etc. (you get a deduction here for children but only one spouse can claim them each year). They may look at your spending and advise how much you can afford to pay in rent if you need to get new housing. You will of course work with the L's on money stuff, particularly with what the law says about how it should be divided, etc. but if you need more in-depth expertise, the L's often cost more (or so I'm told) to see than an FC and they're not primarily financial people. The L's have FCs they work with and could recommend. So, you could "carve out" some of the nitty gritty financial decisions and work with an FC on them and (most important, I think) they should be able to give you a picture of your financial future post-D to help you make decisions now.
Aside from that you can really do whatever you want, no matter what kind of D you're getting- and I think it's a good idea to see both an FC and an accountant, if possible (b/c they will be an expert on taxes, and an FC isn't necessarily). What we have is our regular FC who has advised us for years on our retirement accounts, investments, etc. He first advised we work out as much of the financial stuff (not support, but division of assets) as we could in principle between ourselves so as not to give all our $ to the L's. He then offered not only to go over the financial picture but also, having a grasp of how things are divided in a D (of course I would still consult an L to doublecheck), he offered to help us work the $ details out (again, this wouldn't be legally binding but would give you a lot of info) and if appropriate, make recommendations on what would be most advantageous for both of us financially.
So, e.g., he was giving advice about various ways we could accomplish the division of assets (you know details from my other post) that he thought would give us EACH a better or worse financial picture. He would also help with the paperwork for, e.g., dividing up our retirement accounts if necessary. In our case he represents both of us and would try to do the best he can for each of us without harming the other financially (again, you would doublecheck with L or you could see 2 FCs I guess). He will not draw up or file legal paperwork to be submitted to the court. It would just be a negotiation of the division of assets we'd then take to L's to draw up, but he would help move money around to various accounts we have with his firm as necessary.
He could also advise on things like, if needed, whether it would be smart to temporarily stop contributing to your retirement account if you need extra cash each month now, and how that would affect you 20 years in the future when you retire. Or, if you hold off on saving for kids' college for awhile now, how much you'd have to put away later when you're more financially stable in order to pay for a certain kind of school for them.
Anyone can hire an FC- here you'd go through a place like Ameriprise (American Express), Fidelity, maybe Charles Schwab, etc. For regular business, they bill in different ways- since we don't have a big portfolio, ours just bills us a yearly fee for us to come in whenever we want, within reason and to manage our money (to give you an idea, our fee is $1200/year plus a very small - like 1%- dividend off any trades he makes for us, which is rare). What this gets us is meetings with him as often as we want (usually quarterly, sometimes more) throughout the year, advice on everything from buying a house, to advice on and managing of investment funds, to which of our works' 401K funds we should invest in, what kind of life insurance we should have to make sure our kids are taken care of, etc. His job all year is to keep an eye on our investments, make sure our assets increase in worth, advise when he wants to make adjustments to them to take advantage of the market, and tell us things like how much we should be putting away for daughter's college, tax advantages of that, etc.
He's also willing to answer questions over email and the phone. Other FCs may bill by charging a fee/percentage for stock trades, etc., esp if you have a lot of money/assets. I imagine you could also just contract with them either for a flat fee or by the hour to consult on the D stuff. Paying this guy has been one of the best decisions we've ever made. When H was unemployed for almost 2 years, we actually increased our net worth while managing with one income. I don't like to hassle with watching or shifting my retirement account investments, do research on life insurance or education savings plans, etc. We get immeasurable value back for our money (and no, I'm not affiliated with any FCs
Any other questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them here or in alt- I hope that's helpful!
When the men on the chessboard Get up and tell you where to go; And you've just had some kind of mushroom And your mind is moving slow; Go ask Alice... I think she'll know.
