By Cathleen Collinsworth, CDFA®, MAFF®
www.cccfda.com
949.262.3692
Do I need a financial specialist as well as a lawyer for my divorce? Won’t I be paying twice the money for two professionals to be doing the same work? As in all questions relating to divorce, the answer is, “It depends.” If the marital estate consists of assets such as a residence, retirement accounts, investments, and or credit card debts, you should consider hiring someone to assist you in fully understanding all the financial issues relating to the marital estate.
Misinformation and misconceptions about the divorce process can be detrimental. Many have false expectations that they will be able to secure a divorce settlement allowing them to continue with their accustomed style of living. Financial divorce analysis helps to ensure a good, stable economic future and prevents long-term regret with financial decisions made during the divorce process.
The financial work provided by a lawyer is not the same as that provided by a trained financial professional specializing in the divorce process. In addition, being a CPA or a CFP does not mean that individual has specific training in family law financial matters.
As you go through the divorce process, finding the right professional to help you can become challenging. Do your homework.
- Find a financial analyst who has experience in family law.
- Find someone who knows that there can be significant tax implications when the parties divorce.
A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®) is someone trained in finances who has also taken financial courses specifically designed for the knowledge relating to divorcing couples.
Remember Assets Are Not Equal
Example 1:
Swapping a $50,000 interest in a joint savings account is not the same as receiving a $50,000 interest in a 401(k) plan.
There are no tax consequences to withdrawing the money from the savings account.
There will be current tax consequences as a result of withdrawing money from the 401(k) plan: You will pay ordinary income taxes on the amount withdrawn and, depending on the circumstances, you can pay a combined 12% penalty.
Example 2:
Swapping the family residence with $100,000 of equity with a stock account that currently has a $100,000 capital gain is not equal. If the family residence is sold there could be no capital gains tax owed because there is a $250,000 ($500,000 if married) capital gain exclusion relating to the sale of the family residence.
Stock with a cost of $100,000 is sold for $200,000. Gain of $100,000 could be taxed as high as 23.8% for the Federal Government or $23,800 thus leaving cash available of $76,200.
As you navigate through the divorce process you can make better decisions when you are fully informed of the impact of your financial decisions going forward. The decisions you make now can impact your future financial status.
As you can see, not hiring the right financial professional can be costly. Don’t roll the dice and hope for a good outcome.
Please do not hesitate to call if you have further questions, comments or would like additional information.