We are often asked how we can help when people initially contact us. So, why do you need a divorce financial planner on your team?
When you decide to separate, or one of you wants to end the marriage, it can be a hugely stressful time, filled with fear. The fear of not knowing what’s in front of you. Your future plans are no longer the same. You may be worried about what happens with the house, with money and with the children.
If this is how you’re feeling, a good starting point is to get some emotional support from a counsellor or a divorce coach. You need to be in the right place emotionally to start to gather information and move forward with decision making.
If you feel that you are in a good place emotionally, (and divorce is a rollercoaster so this may change; don’t worry if it does) we can help in a number of ways. We can help you to gather your financial information together and make sense of it, including your pensions. We can help you to work out what you need to pay for your lifestyle. Whether you decide to use family mediation, collaborative law or traditional family law, getting this bit sorted early on is vital.
We also work with couples on a neutral basis, often as part of the mediation or collaborative process but not always. We can help you to look at the options for dividing your finances to see how this may be achieved fairly so that you can both have clarity about the future.
Did your partner or spouse look after the money? It’s very common, if not always the case, for one person to sort out the finances. In a relationship, we play to our strengths. However, when the relationship ends, this can leave us feeling lost and even more fearful of the future.
We work with people in this position all the time, men and women. It is important that you feel on an even footing with your soon to be ex when you are negotiating the financial arrangements. We can help you to understand more about the financial products that you have and to understand what you need to be in a position to move forward so that when you negotiate, you know what you are aiming for. We will be here to hold your hand through the process. It may be better for your future to make a counter offer. You need to understand what this looks like and make informed decisions about whether to accept or a reasoned argument about why you might decline. Having the support, evidence and understanding about why you’re declining an offer can help to come to an agreed settlement, rather than just saying no.
Your lawyer has been in touch to say they have received an offer from your soon to be ex. They tell you what it is, but it means nothing to you.
There is a share of your savings, equity from the house, pensions and some maintenance, but you have lots of questions… Will I be able to stay in the family home? If not, where can I afford to buy? Can I still stay at home with the children or do I need to get a job now? If I need to get a job, what do I need to earn? How long will the money last? What about when I retire, do I need to save more for that?
These are all questions we can help you to answer. We have worked with many people in this situation. They don’t know if the offer is good for them or not, without understanding it in the context of their life. Your lawyer may feel it is a good offer, but you need to understand what it means to you. Sometimes a tweak in the way in which it is structured can mean you securing your financial future. We can help you to see what these tweaks might be. This can help you to come to a quicker agreement without the need for expensive court hearings. We work with some fabulous family lawyers to make this happen. Please ask if you need an introduction.
You have a pension sharing order from the divorce settlement, but you don’t know what next.
You need a financial adviser or financial planner to help you to implement the pension sharing order. Whilst it is true that any financial adviser can help you, there are complexities that those who have not undertaken this work before may not be aware of. It is a good idea to find someone who specialises in divorce because they will do this all the time and be able to guide you through the potential pitfalls, which can often mean standing their ground with product providers on your behalf.
You also want to understand how the pension share can help you in your next chapter. What can they do to help you to achieve the life that you want? Clients who start to work with us at this stage often ask why they didn’t find us before because we can help them to understand what their future looks like. They can start to plan with some clarity.
Your divorce is done and dusted. You can move on with the next chapter of your life. You may not feel ready for this just yet. Give yourself some time. There is no rush. When you are ready, we are here to help.
What do you want to do? You might be planning a career change or starting a new business. You might be entirely focussed on buying a new home. You might not have children at home and be planning some travel. You might have no idea what next but feel that you would like to make some changes.
We can help you to work out what and then look at your financial position to understand how! For most things we want to do in life, we need money. Money shouldn’t be the focus; it is the tool to help you to do all the amazing things you would like to do as you open your mind to the possibilities. It often takes time to get to this point. You may need to move in small steps and that’s fine.
You are free to design your new life and start your new chapter. We would love to help you on your journey.
Wherever you are on your divorce journey, we would love to support you and help you through the process. Please arrange an initial chat using https://calendly.com/tamsin-caine/15min. If you are not quite ready yet, please join our Facebook group, where you will find lots of help, information and support.
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