One of the most difficult aspects of divorce is the financial aspect. Â Suddenly, two households need to be maintained with the same income as what maintained one household before the separation. Â In addition, there are court filing fees, attorney fees, expenses for getting a new home and new ‘stuff,’ and many hidden expenses, such as the expense for taking time off work for court hearings, expenses in increased insurance, for example, and the list goes on.
One of the ways to protect yourself is to talk to both an attorney and a financial advisor. Â Both should be qualified and be working to help you and not trying to get more money out of you. Â If you educate yourself on the legal process and financial planning, you can make better decisions throughout the process. This will help you in the long run.
In addition, make sure you change the beneficiaries on your life insurance, retirements, and other payable-on-death accounts. Â Do you really want your ex getting your money? Similarly, update your estate plan to reflect your new circumstances. Note, however, that in California, once the Petition has been filed and served, you may not change your estate plan during the divorce/separation action without permission from your spouse or a court order.
Finally, do an assessment of what you have. Â Assemble your life insurance, bank/stock account documents, retirement accounts, debts, etc., and put them all in one place. Â Knowing what you have can be the first step in determining where you’re going and how to get there.
Christina McPherson, Attorney: McPherson Law Group - Estate Planning, Living Trusts 
October 1, 2012 at 11:54 AM
Hi Christina – Hope all has been well with you!
I just received your newsletter and thought I’d tell you about my book on divorce & finances for women that was just published and is now available on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Divorce-Financially-Emotionally-Securing-Financial/dp/1937458490/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348404451&sr=8-1&keywords=divorce+think+financially
Divorce: Think Financially, Not Emotionally®
What Women Need to Know About Securing Their Financial Future Before, During and After Divorce
The Kindle is also available at the URL below:
http://www.amazon.com/Divorce-Think-Financially-Emotionally-ebook/dp/B009GN545S/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348837173&sr=1-2&keywords=divorce+think+financially
And the Nook version is available at:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/divorce-jeffrey-landers/1113056105?ean=2940015636154
Fifty percent of all profits from the sale of each book will be donated to my nonprofit, Bedrock Divorce Fund For Abused Women, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity whose mission is to help female victims of domestic abuse and the organizations that support them.
If you know any women who might benefit from reading the book, I would greatly appreciate it if you could pass this info on to them.
Thanks – Jeff.
Jeffrey A. Landers, CDFA™, Divorce Financial Strategist™ President Bedrock Divorce Advisors, LLC 1115 Broadway – 12th Floor New York, NY 10010 917-602-6977 917-591-4394 (Fax) http://www.BedrockDivorce.com
Think Financially, Not Emotionally®
From: “McPherson Law Group. Estate Planning & Divorce Law. Unlike any attorneys you’ve ever met.” <comment-reply@wordpress.com> Reply-To: “McPherson Law Group. Estate Planning & Divorce Law. Unlike any attorneys you’ve ever met.” <comment+edovqq9ezm_rk4f1ff1qb1@comment.wordpress.com> Date: Monday, October 1, 2012 2:29 PM To: Jeffrey Landers <landers@bedrockdivorceadvisors.com> Subject: [New post] Protecting your finances in a separation or divorce
christinamcpherson posted: “One of the most difficult aspects of divorce is the financial aspect. Suddenly, two households need to be maintained with the same income as what maintained one household before the separation. In addition, there are court filing fees, attorney fees, “