Tag: divorce financial expert

Unlocking Peace: How Personalized Divorce Support Can Ease Your Transition

Posted on by Steve

Divorce can be a daunting journey, fraught with uncertainties and fears. It’s natural to experience anxiety when facing such a significant life change. However, these fears often stem from unaddressed weaknesses within ourselves, which can hinder our ability to navigate the process effectively. But fear not, as there are ways to confront and overcome these challenges with the help of personalized divorce support and specialized divorce coaching.

Understanding Divorce Fear

Divorce fear is like a weak spot we’ve ignored or avoided dealing with. These weak spots represent opportunities for growth and transformation. By addressing them, we can transition from a state of pent-up fear to one of greater peace and empowerment.

The Illusion of Security

Much of our fear surrounding divorce arises from our attachment to material possessions and societal constructs of certainty and safety. We may believe we own things like houses or retirement plans, but in reality, they are merely constructs designed to provide psychological security. However, they can be taken away by divorce, legal matters, or unforeseen events like natural disasters or illness.

Transitioning to Ease and Flow

The key to overcoming divorce fear lies in a combination of action-based faith and supernatural faith. Action-based faith involves taking proactive steps to address our underlying fears and prevent negative outcomes. However, if these outcomes do occur, supernatural faith serves as our guiding light, helping us trust in the process and believe in our ability to overcome any obstacle.

The Blend of Action and Belief

During the divorce transition, it’s essential to blend these two forms of faith. We must identify actionable steps to address our fears while cultivating a belief in our own skills, talents, and experiences to navigate the challenges ahead. This blend of action and belief is what propels us forward and allows us to trust that alignment will occur.

The Role of Personalized Divorce Support

This is where personalized divorce support and specialized divorce coaching come into play. A divorce transition expert can help you identify your weak spots, develop actionable strategies to address them, and provide the support and guidance you need to navigate the process with confidence and ease. By working with a specialized coach, you can unlock a sense of peace and empowerment as you transition through divorce.

In conclusion, divorce fear is a natural part of the process, but it doesn’t have to control us. With the right support and guidance, we can confront our fears, embrace change, and emerge stronger on the other side. Personalized divorce support and specialized divorce coaching offer valuable tools and resources to help us navigate this challenging journey and find peace amidst the chaos.

Essential Divorce Housing Transition Tips

Posted on by Steve

Divorce is undeniably challenging, and one of the most significant hurdles facing couples is the transition regarding their housing situation. In many cases, the family home represents the most substantial asset, making it a focal point of negotiations. Let’s delve into key divorce housing transition tips to consider when navigating your housing settlement during divorce proceedings.

Challenges Couples Encounter

Divorce marks the beginning of a complex journey, and housing transitions play a pivotal role. Establishing separate living arrangements becomes paramount, aiming to alleviate tension and confusion, especially for children. However, rushing decisions without comprehensive consideration can lead to unforeseen challenges. From securing affordable housing within the same school district to balancing mortgage terms with property values, each step requires careful navigation.

Understanding a Mortgage

The intricacies of mortgage agreements hold significant sway in divorce proceedings. Often, couples find themselves grappling with the implications of mortgage contracts, which supersede court rulings. From discerning mortgage terms to understanding amortization schedules, a deeper comprehension is vital. Moreover, nuances such as ownership designation and mortgage underwriting criteria add layers of complexity, emphasizing the need for informed decision-making.

Understanding the Deed

Another consideration in these divorce housing transition tips centers on property titling, particularly concerning the family home, carries profound implications. Various titling options, fromJoint Tenants by Entirety to Individual ownership, entail distinct advantages and risks. Understanding these nuances is crucial for equitable asset distribution and legal protection, underscoring the importance of informed decision-making during divorce settlements.

Understanding Home Taxation

Navigating the realm of home taxation, including capital gains implications, is paramount for divorcing couples. While capital gain exclusions offer relief, overlooking critical factors such as residency requirements and depreciation can lead to unforeseen tax liabilities. Additionally, understanding deductible mortgage debt and anticipating future tax reforms are essential considerations for financial planning post-divorce.

Common Mistakes Couples Make

From neglecting pre-approval for mortgage qualification to overlooking potential tax implications, several common pitfalls can derail housing transitions during divorce. Avoiding these mistakes requires careful planning, including exploring assumable mortgage options, maintaining financial stability, and anticipating the long-term implications of housing decisions.

Best Way to Proceed

Empower yourself with knowledge and expertise to navigate your housing transition effectively. While legal guidance is crucial, seeking advice from certified professionals such as Certified Divorce Financial Analysts (CDFA), Certified Public Accountants (CPA), and Certified Divorce Lending Professionals (CDLP®) can provide invaluable insights tailored to your financial needs and goals.

Take Action:

Don’t leave your housing transition to chance. Take proactive steps with these divorce housing transition tips to educate yourself and seek professional guidance to ensure a smooth transition during divorce. Empower yourself with knowledge, explore your options, and make informed decisions to secure your financial future. Reach out to certified professionals today to embark on this journey with confidence and clarity. Your future self will thank you.

Visit the Divorce Support Center on Patreon to gain access to our informative training “Navigating the Homefront: Strategic Housing Transition in Divorce”

What Do Businesses Gain from Proactively Managing Divorce Risk

Posted on by Steve

Divorce poses a significant systemic risk to businesses, akin to a pandemic in its scope. Wise investments in prevention and mitigation can drastically lower the costs associated with divorce for businesses. Divorce impacts not just the family unit but also ripples through to employers, affecting time, energy, money, and health as employees navigate difficult divorce transitions.  Managing divorce risk is paramount to long-term success.

If businesses invest in divorce risk management as they do with other systemic risks like cybersecurity, they can reduce an inherent cost impacting their bottom line year after year. This proactive approach requires the right strategies and players. Here are some key gains for businesses:

Recapturing Lost Productivity

As you consider the importance of managing divorce risk, consider that employees are already distracted by social media, news, online shopping, and messaging, which impact productivity. Divorce adds a more intense layer of distraction through legal demands, frequent communication, family scheduling issues, household transitions, toxic ex-spouses, and ongoing conversations with co-workers.

These distractions affect bottom-line productivity. For instance, consider a $50,000 salaried employee who becomes 25% less productive. This employee ideally contributes two to three times their salary to the bottom line, so their economic contribution is $100,000 to $150,000. A 25% distraction each month equates to a substantial loss, and these distractions can persist long after the divorce is finalized.

Reducing Strain on Senior Leaders and Key Producers

Senior leaders and key producers present a greater risk than rank-and-file employees, as their divorce cases often involve contentious legal battles. Their job and perks can become pawns in divorce negotiations, such as when a spouse fights for custody, knowing the other’s job demands strain their ability to balance work and family.

Supporting these senior producers is vital because they carry experience, internal and external relationship responsibilities, and subject-matter expertise crucial to the organization’s success. They also influence daily performance across teams.

Lowering Resignations

A study by Philip N. Cohen, a Sociologist at the University of Maryland, analyzed job turnover and divorce over 26 years. His findings show a potential job turnover probability for divorcees ranging from 12% to as high as 20%, with a median turnover rate of about 16% per year. This means businesses could lose one out of every five to six divorcing employees, which is costly given the expense of hiring, onboarding, and training new employees.

Divorcees often struggle to manage work demands alongside solo parenting, face mounting financial obligations, and undergo deep reflection about their priorities, leading to higher resignation rates. All these factors highlight the importance of managing divorce risk.

Reducing Absenteeism and Presenteeism

The demands of divorce place a direct strain on time and energy. The legal timeline of divorce does not wait for key work projects to finish, forcing employees to step away from work to tackle their divorce tasks.

Contentious divorces increase uncertainty and fear as employees await key decisions that can take weeks or months. Without addressing patterns of negative rumination, employees may be present at work but not engaged in their tasks. Effective coaching helps employees prioritize important tasks and manage rumination, keeping their attention focused on the present.

Increasing Loyalty

A recent Gallup poll shows that approximately 25% of employees believe their employer cares about their overall well-being. Of those employees, 69% are less likely to look for a new position. Leaders who support employees through difficult times, such as divorce, make a direct investment in loyalty.

Philip N. Cohen’s research indicates that 2.5% of a workforce may be going through a divorce at any given time. This number increases when considering employees in “invisible divorces” (those who have yet to separate) and those still struggling post-divorce.  This further emphasizes the importance of managing divorce risk.

Conclusion

Employers need to recognize the stealth costs of divorce on their business. An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a great starting point, but it should not be limited to legal and therapy connections. Instead, invest in divorce experts who can train staff and leadership. This education and support reduce avoidable costs of time, energy, money, and health, ultimately lowering the risk of divorce-related costs impacting the employer and the employee’s family unit.

Cost of Divorce on Businesses

Posted on by Steve

Since California instituted the no-fault divorce law in 1969, divorce rates have steadily increased. While it’s debatable whether the number of divorces would have remained steady without this law, the nationwide adoption of no-fault divorce laws has coincided with divorce rates reaching pandemic levels. There is a substantial cost of divorce on businesses.

Today, the average divorce rate for first marriages is around 50%, and it jumps to 67% for second marriages. These rates, combined with the unmeasured “invisible divorce rate”—the number of couples who are married but disengaged and living in unhealthy relationships—highlight the significant impact of marital issues on businesses.

The Harvard Business Review estimates that divorce costs US businesses around $150 billion annually. Despite this, businesses are failing to take proactive steps to quantify and manage this stealth risk. Unlike other risks that can be transferred to insurance carriers, businesses have no option but to self-insure against divorce risk. Unfortunately, the landscape of self-insurance tools and resources for this issue is sparse.

The Growing Divorce Industry

As the cost of divorce on businesses continue to rise, so too does the divorce divorce industry, with some estimates valuing it at $28 billion per year and a national average cost of $20,000 per divorcing couple. The Institute of Divorce Financial Analysts reports that approximately 50% of divorces are “pro se” divorces, which do not involve litigation. However, divorces with high contentiousness and financial complexity are more likely to incur greater litigation expenses. This suggests that about 25% of all marriages are likely to end in litigation.

 

The Core Problem

The core problem lies in the mismatch between a divorce case’s characteristics and the family court’s process for legally ending a marriage. Family courts follow standard procedures that work well for amicable exits but are not effective for highly contentious couples or those with complex financial situations. These cases often result in “avoidable costs” on top of the baseline “unavoidable costs” inherent in every divorce.

Avoidable costs include not just money but also time, energy, and health. These factors directly impact a business’s bottom line through productivity declines, increased absenteeism and presenteeism, resignations, quality and safety issues, and the spread of stress to other employees.

The Financial Stress of Divorce

In addition to the direct costs, there is a rise in the employee’s financial stress. PricewaterhouseCoopers conducts an annual financial wellness survey (2023 linked) that routinely reveals financial stress as the number one stressor in families’ lives. This stress often precedes divorce and skyrockets during the process, as divorcees face increased worry about their future and a sense of loss regarding their accumulated assets.

Expanding Employee Assistance Programs

Many business leaders and human resource managers are expanding services through Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), offering access to legal counsel and psychotherapy. However, businesses cannot guarantee that these services will reduce costs for the employee and the business. Moreover, the therapy timeline doesn’t always align with the divorce timeline, deferring the immediate need. Coupled with the delicate nature of these conversations, the potential risk management outcomes are not as effective as they could be.

Proactive Solutions

The cost of divorce on businesses should be treated in a proactive fashion as other  systemic threats, like cyber risk. They can invest in awareness training and implement support tools to prevent and mitigate the impacts of divorce. This proactive management could involve aligning with Certified Divorce Coaches who can help employees navigate the divorce process, mitigate mistakes, develop strategies, and understand both the internal and external aspects of divorce. Additionally, Certified Divorce Financial Analysts (CDFA®) professionals can help employees manage the financial complexities inherent in their divorce.

Businesses can add these offerings to their EAP or align with respected professionals. Relying solely on attorneys to provide these resources can be a mistake, as they may not offer comprehensive support.

Benefits of Proactive Management

Proactively managing divorce risk and the specific cost of divorce on businesses can help businesses reduce the impact on their bottom line. It ensures employees receive the support they need, leading to improved focus, reduced stress, and better overall outcomes during the transition.