By: Judy Doyle, CPA and Jasmina Woodson, CPA, CFF

Getting a divorce can be one of the hardest and most life-changing events in a person’s life.  Even the most amicable divorces can be draining both mentally and emotionally. For some people, getting to “D” Day is the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.  Alimony has been calculated and the assets have been divided, it’s time to move on. But for others, this day brings on a new set of challenges and fears, as they are being forced into the driver’s seat to make financial decisions they never had to make before.  How much do I need for retirement? Can I afford to pay for my children’s college education? Will I have enough money to support my lifestyle and if so, for how long? All of these are valid questions and often times on the forefront of our client’s minds as they are signing their Property Settlement Agreements. So how can our team at Withum help?

Our firm offers a wide array of accounting and advisory services, one of them being Withum Wealth Management. Withum Wealth is an independent registered investment advisor offering private wealth management solutions to develop a plan to help your clients move forward confidently into the next phase of their lives.  What helps set Withum Wealth apart is that as an RIA, they are true fiduciaries and held to a higher standard than the traditional investment firms.  Withum Wealth is legally required to provide ongoing advice that is in clients' best interests and not simply recommendations that are suitable and which may lead to additional commission or compensation. There are many ways in which Withum Wealth may be helpful to your clients.  Here we highlight just a few of those areas.

Financial Independence Analysis

As mentioned above, going through a divorce is a difficult and scary situation for many clients.  For individuals who are not used to making financial decisions this can be paralyzing.  Withum Wealth has developed several methods to help ease client’s fears both during and after the divorce is finalized.

1. Cash Flow and Budgeting Analysis– Withum Wealth has the ability to prepare various analyses to assist the client in determining their expected ongoing cash flow to support their daily expenses and budgeting to help plan for the future, whether this be during the divorce negotiations or immediately after the divorce is finalized. This analysis takes into consideration all sources of income available to the client, including alimony and income producing assets received in equitable distribution. As it relates to the investments held, Withum Wealth is able to determine exactly how the asset division would occur, the types of assets held, any imbedded tax consequences, and how easily said assets could be transferred between parties. They are then able to run various scenarios to determine how much income could be earned from these assets to support the required lifestyle. This analysis is intended to help the client with their short-term needs following the divorce.
2.    Full Life Expectancy Analysis– This analysis is intended to help clients in the long-term. Using various models, Withum Wealth has the ability to determine the amount of income required to maintain one’s lifestyle based on the estimated life expectancy. Similar to the above, all sources of income available to the client are considered, including potential inheritances, as well as various major life expenses, such as children’s college expenses and retirement. 

The goal in preparing the types of analyses outline above is to assist the client in gaining control of their finances. These provide a starting point in the form of an individualized financial framework so the client can make smart financial decisions moving forward.

Customized Investment Management

Once an individual has an understanding of the assets he/she will receive in equitable distribution, they can begin to start planning for their new future.  Withum Wealth works with their clients to determine the types of accounts held and appropriate strategies in order to move forward.  This requires in depth discussions with the client to determine their needs and the related risks involved. Each individual has unique circumstances, tolerance for risk, investment objectives and income requirements that need to be considered. 

In addition to the services outlined above, Withum Wealth also has the ability to provide useful analyses throughout the divorce process. Some examples include the preparation of a rate of return analyses.  This may be of assistance in instances where one of the parties has a pre-marital component to their retirement account which needs to be considered.  Withum Wealth is also able to assist in complex investment consulting in cases where the parties hold highly volatile funds that may require daily monitoring. 

Withum Wealth’s client-first approach means they are always acting in the best interest of the client, whether it be assisting the client with ad hoc projects or building a long-term relationship in which they manage the client’s assets. Throughout the divorce process the client has an advocate, their attorney, guiding them every step of the way. It is important that after the divorce is finalized the client knows they still have a trusted advisor supporting them as they tackle life after divorce.

The services we have available at Withum bring world class service to your clients as our knowledge base expands across various industries and service lines.  Withum Wealth is just one of the many areas of expertise our firm has access to which we are able to utilize in your divorce case.

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For more information or any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to our team. 

Judy Doyle, CPA is a Senior Manager and Lead of Withum’s Matrimonial Litigation team.  She can be reached at jdoyle@withum.com

Jasmina Woodson, CPA/CFF is a Manager and a member of Withum’s Matrimonial Litigation team.  She can be reached at jwoodson@withum.com

To learn more about our Withum Wealth Management services, please visit http://www.withumwealth.com/

For more on Withum’s Matrimonial Litigation services, please visit https://www.withum.com/sub-service/matrimonial-dissolution/

Important Disclosure: This message is limited to the dissemination of information pertaining to Withum Wealth Management (“Withum Wealth”) and general economic market conditions. Nothing contained herein should be construed as personalized advice, or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and there is no guarantee that the views and opinions expressed in this commentary will come to pass. Withum Wealth is neither a law firm nor an accounting firm, and no portion of this commentary should be construed as legal or tax advice. You are advised to consult with separate legal or tax advisors with respect to any legal or tax advice. Withum Wealth does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to WWM’s web site or blog or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Withum Wealth is an investment adviser registered with the SEC. For information pertaining to the registration status of Withum Wealth, please refer to the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov). For additional information about Withum Wealth, including fees and services, send for our written disclosure statement as set forth on Form ADV Part 2A.