Personal Financial Planning for Divorce

by Rattiner, Jeffrey H.

• ISBN13: 9780470482049
• ISBN10: 0470482044
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-10-12
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

This book contains all the guidelines for minimizing damage throughout the difficult process of divorce. It includes strategies necessary to safeguard assets in advance of filing, how to cope with issues beyond oners"s control, and how to effectively plan going forward after the divorce. The book includes examples of how not to handle the divorce process and how these issues should be handled, including checklists, planning charts, forms and tables. It provides a turnkey approach towards planning for divorce.

Author Biography

Jeffrey H. Rattiner, CPA, CFP®, MBA, RFC, is a well-known professional speaker,educator, and author ofnine major financial books, including the bestsellers Rattiner's Review for the CFP® Certification Examin-ation, Fast Track Study Guide (Wiley) and Getting Started as a Financial Planner. Rattiner is a leading innovator on financial planning educational topics and his program, Rattiner's Financial Planning Fast Track®, continues to raise the industry bar by training financial services professionals to obtain their Certified Financial Planner® (CFP) certification in an accelerated format nationwide. He lectures to many large financial services organizations, has been a columnist for many of the industry trade publications, has been named to the 2003 CPA All-Stars in Personal Financial Planning by CPA Magazine, and has been quoted in many trade and consumer publications.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
The Unthinkable	p. 1
Divorce from a Personal Financial Planning Perspective	p. 2
Divorce Etiquette	p. 4
Should You File?	p. 5
Should You Separate or Divorce?	p. 6
Types of Divorce	p. 7
What Will Others Think?	p. 10
What to Do First: Looking at the Big Picture	p. 11
Taking the High Road	p. 12
Regrouping	p. 13
Informing the Children	p. 13
Coming to Grips with the Reality of the Situation: Representation	p. 16
Hiring an Attorney	p. 19
Involving Others: Your Support Team	p. 28
Becoming Too Passive	p. 29
What to Do Before You Leave Home for Good	p. 29
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 30
Minimizing the Damage	p. 33
Negotiating Your Way out of a Trial	p. 33
Early-on Negotiations	p. 34
Can You Negotiate What You Want?	p. 37
Negotiating through Your Lawyer	p. 38
Last-Minute Negotiations: The Settlement Conference	p. 38
Take Care of Yourself-It's All About Me	p. 39
Take Care of Your Family	p. 41
Protect Your Mail	p. 43
Protect Your Computer	p. 44
Close Joint Accounts	p. 45
Utilities	p. 47
Establish Your Own Credit	p. 48
Protect Your Separate Property	p. 50
Filing a Tax Return	p. 51
Relief from Joint Liability	p. 52
Temporary Support Agreements	p. 53
Reentering the Workforce	p. 55
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 56
Paying for Divorce	p. 59
Costs Involved	p. 59
What Should You Pay for in the Divorce?	p. 60
How Long Will You Have to Pay These Expenses?	p. 61
Creating a Budget	p. 62
Analyzing Your Income	p. 65
Going Solo	p. 67
Joint Assets	p. 68
How to Pay for It: Avoid Paying for Your Ex's Legal Fees	p. 74
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 78
Plan of Attack: Let the Games Begin!	p. 79
Taking Your Ex Out	p. 79
Litigation	p. 80
Anything Other Than Litigation	p. 83
Mediation	p. 83
Collaborative Divorce	p. 88
Arbitration	p. 89
The Preliminaries: Gathering the Evidence	p. 90
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 95
Alimony and Child Support Issues	p. 97
Alimony: Maintenance and/or Spousal Support	p. 97
Alimony Recapture: Too Much Alimony Paid Too Soon	p. 105
Child Support	p. 106
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 114
Divorce Can Be Taxing!	p. 117
Property Setdements	p. 117
Filing Status	p. 121
Sale of the Principal Residence	p. 129
Like-Kind Exchanges under IRC Section 1031	p. 134
Tax Credits Regarding Children	p. 137
Rattiner's Tax Planning Tips	p. 138
Retirement Plans	p. 141
Vesting Rules	p. 142
Types of Retirement Plans	p. 143
Understanding Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO)	p. 152
Valuation of Retirement Plans	p. 155
Determining How Much of the Valuation Is Your Share	p. 157
Using Retirement Assets to Buy Out or Balance Out Equity	p. 158
Your Ex's Remarriage or Death and Your Vested Pension Benefits	p. 159
Discovery of Retirement Plans	p. 159
Common Mistakes Pertaining to Retirement Plans	p. 162
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 163
Valuation Issues	p. 167
Property Division Issues	p. 167
Common Law versus Community Property	p. 167
Closely Held Business Valuation	p. 173
Stock Redemptions	p. 180
Partner Liquidations	p. 180
Stock Options	p. 182
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 184
Redesigning Your Personal Financial Plan after the Divorce	p. 187
The Personal Financial Process	p. 189
The New and Improved Game of Life: Executive Summary	p. 190
Designing the Personal Financial Plan	p. 194
The Personal Financial Planning Disciplines	p. 202
Rattiner's Financial Planning Tips Checklist	p. 247
Afterward: The 25 Steps to Future Success	p. 255
Recap	p. 255
Financial Planning Responsibilities That Need to Be Followed Up	p. 257
Other Critical Issues That Need Your Follow-up	p. 267
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 279
Planning for Same-Sex Couple Divorces: Issues Specific to These Couples	p. 283
Domestic Partnership Agreement/ Cohabitation Agreement	p. 285
Last Will and Testament	p. 286
Rattiner's Planning Tips	p. 290
Appendix: Charts and Forms	p. 293
About the Author	p. 313
Index	p. 315
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