Do You Need a Divorce Financial Planner?
You may have seen ads for Certified Divorce Financial Analysts or for divorce financial planners. These professionals specialize in helping people who are divorcing understand their assets, plan a settlement, and understand the possible value of their assets in the future. They also may be able to appraise assets. They may be skilled in tax law, understanding insurance options, and retirement planning.
Understand the Overlap
The problem with divorce financial planners is that many of the services they offer overlap with those other more qualified professionals offer. For example, if you are considering the tax ramifications of selling the marital home and distributing a pension plan, you could turn to your tax adviser who specializes in this information. If you are trying to create a budget or work out an investment plan moving forward, you could consult your financial adviser who is an expert in these topics. If you are trying to complete the financial affidavit required for your divorce, your divorce attorney would be an expert in this. If you needed to get an appraisal of a home, jewelry, collectibles, or antiques, you would turn to an appraiser who specializes in that particular area. The best way to get accurate, current information is to work with someone who specializes exactly in that area.
A Combination of Resources
There are some benefits to using a divorce financial planner. He or she provides one stop shopping for all of your financial concerns, so instead of hiring an appraiser, tax specialist, and financial adviser, you could turn to a divorce financial planner to handle all of your concerns. In addition, divorce financial planners are trained to consider all of these issues together and within the context and laws of a divorce, so they may be able to provide a clearer and more complete perspective. If you have a very complex divorce that involves several businesses, homes, investment accounts, and assets it might make sense to work with someone who can look at them as a whole. Additionally, a divorce financial planner is used to working closely with divorce attorneys and may be able to provide the information in a more succinct format, making it more easily able to be used in your case.
There are pros and cons to using a divorce financial planner. In the end, you’ll need to decide if he or she can provide the best services for your needs and if the expense is worth it.