Estate Planning Attorneys
We partner with estate planning attorneys to keep a client’s financial life and estate plan aligned through and after divorce. As CDFAs, we provide clear analysis that supports accurate and forward looking planning. Our work streamlines the process so attorneys can focus on legal advocacy without managing complex financial details.
Pre-Divorce Collaboration
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Financial Inventory & Analysis: We gather and organize income, expenses, assets, and liabilities, creating a clear financial picture that informs equitable settlements and accurate estate documents.
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Complex Assets: We assist with business valuations, stock options, and retirement plans, ensuring that even high-value or intricate holdings are properly considered.
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Tax Implications: We highlight the tax impact of asset division and support strategies that position clients for both immediate and long-term efficiency.
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Prenuptial Planning: For clients preparing to remarry, we work with attorneys to ensure prenuptial agreements align with broader estate wishes.
Post-Divorce Collaboration
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Estate Plan Updates: We provide attorneys with finalized settlement details to support revisions to wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations.
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Asset Retitling & Funding: We assist clients in properly retitling accounts and funding trusts so estate plans function as intended.
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Complex Family Dynamics: For blended families or unique circumstances, we collaborate with attorneys to build structures that protect diverse interests.
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Ongoing Coordination: As clients’ financial lives evolve, we continue to monitor and advise, alerting attorneys to when estate adjustments may be needed.
THE RESULT: Estate planning attorneys can focus on drafting and strategy while we handle the financial detail, ensuring clients leave the divorce process with a coordinated estate plan and long-term security.
Meet Sarah
THE ESTATE PLANNING PARTNERSHIP
Sarah is an experienced estate planning attorney in Philadelphia who had guided a couple through years of thoughtful planning. When the clients entered divorce, she knew the emotional pressure and legal complexity could easily unravel the work they had built. Divorce attorneys were focused on the legal process, the clients were overwhelmed, and critical financial details risked being overlooked.
WHAT WE DID:
We partnered with Sarah to review every part of the estate plan, including trusts, beneficiary designations, annuities, and account ownership. We identified which assets needed specific handling during the divorce so the plan stayed intact and the clients avoided unnecessary taxes, penalties, or liquidation losses. We mapped out settlement scenarios showing how each choice would affect the long term estate plan, ensuring no one created financial damage that would need to be fixed later.
RESULT:
Sarah felt supported and confident that her clients’ estate plan remained protected through the divorce. Key assets were handled correctly, costly mistakes were avoided, and both parties moved forward without creating problems that would surface years later. Sarah delivered a smoother, safer outcome without having to clean up preventable issues after the dust settled.
TAKEAWAY:
When estate planners and CDFAs work together, clients maintain the integrity of their plan, avoid costly missteps, and transition through divorce with far greater clarity and security.