Earlier this week, Financial blogger Emma Johnson — who writes at WealthySingleMommy.com — penned an interesting piece about financing options for women who may be trapped in bad marriages with no way to finance a divorce. Continue reading “Divorce Financing Options: Creative Ways to Fund Your Case”
Tag: Money
Money Issues in New York Divorces
The #1 Secret Weapon And Surprising Best Friend In Your Divorce
Mark was confused: his wife was demanding their co-op apartment in the divorce, and he felt – deep in his heart – that she should have it. His friends and coworkers were telling him it was a bad deal to trade-off paying her “alimony” and give her the apartment. And so was I. When Mark came in for our next appointment, I showed him my number one secret weapon in divorce – and his new best friend: a calculator.
“When you break down the tax benefits to paying ‘alimony’ and look closely at avoiding capital gains in a sale of the home, you are losing,” I told Mark. And so did the calculator.
Once Mark and I factored in the costs of litigation (best-case and worst-case), and examined his investment and retirement accounts, he had a choice: would he give up $175k in exchange for a “quick” settlement? Finally, Mark saw the light and went to a CPA and a realtor to confirm our rough estimates. Continue reading “The #1 Secret Weapon And Surprising Best Friend In Your Divorce”
True Story: How to Squirrel Away $5,000 to Get Out of a Horrible Marriage (And Get the Kids, House and Alimony)
I know an amazing mother of four children. She is on her second marriage and this time, the marriage is extremely successful. She and her caring, supportive husband are both school teachers. They have two-year-old twins and a house with — literally — a white-picket fence around it. It wasn’t always this way.
I’ll call this woman “Anne.”
Anne’s ex-husband was an obsessive, controlling and verbally abusive police officer. He drank. He cheated. And when Anne protested, he threatened to use his job to take custody of their preschool-aged kids and make her life a living hell. He also threatened to use his position as the sole bread-winner to hire the best lawyer and steam-roll over her in court. Yet, rather than feeling trapped and overwhelmed, Anne seized control of the situation — by taking control of her finances.
But not in the way you might think.
Every Woman Needs $5,000 in Her Own Account — Even If It’s a Secret
Every married woman needs at least $5,000 in a bank account in her own name — no matter what her husband thinks.
Far too many women are going to reject this mandate as an act of marital treason. Let’s be clear: I didn’t say the account had to be a secret. I leave that up to the individual woman. Nor did I suggest that you shouldn’t care what your partner thinks. In a healthy relationship, you should absolutely care about his opinion. But you should have an account, regardless.
You’re an adult. You should have some access to cash in your own name, not because it is a “divorce slush fund,” but for scads of other reasons. Continue reading “Every Woman Needs $5,000 in Her Own Account — Even If It’s a Secret”
The Divorce Artist™️ 