Our Services: Divorce Planning
The tools you need to get through life's most difficult transitions.
PRE-DIVORCE PLANNING
Unfortunately, more than 4 out of 10 marriages today end in divorce. The financial consequences of divorce can be significant. Cris Carter has 27 years of experience assisting clients in planning for divorce and developing strategies to maximize their likelihood of success. We can provide you with a complete understanding of all potential financial issues that may arise and advise you on how to make the best financial decisions on both a short and long-term basis. What seems reasonable on the surface may not be fair when all the financial information is gathered and analyzed as to present value and tax consequences. Cris Carter Law can assist you in the following areas:
• Marital and non-marital assets
• Effect of commingling
• Child support
• Child care credit
• Dependency exemptions
• Tax implications of property distribution and support
• Impact of inflation
• Current value compared to future value
• Rights to retirement accounts (pensions, 401(k) plans, IRA’s, etc.)
• Spousal support
• Asset Valuation
• Company perks
• Gifts and Inheritances during the marriage
• Tracing assets
• Credit Card Issues
• Timing of the divorce
As you start down the road leading to divorce, it’s a good time to make sure your will is updated and you have a valid healthcare proxy in place. Also, a durable power of attorney will allow someone you choose to handle your property if you become unable.
POST-DIVORCE PLANNING
Once the divorce is over, there may still be outstanding issues that need to be resolved. Title changes, distribution of accounts, division of assets, preparation of qualified domestic relations orders (Qdro), and guarding against negative tax consequences are all details that should be addressed and may have been overlooked. The team at Cris Carter Law can take care of the practical and legal steps necessary to conclude a divorce.
Once the divorce is behind you, the team at Cris Carter Law can help you to form a new plan for your new future. Financial planning is a critical step to ensure that you protect and invest your assets to best plan for your future.
If you have not already rewritten your Last Will and Testament, now is the time to address that, as well as a health care proxy and advanced directives. We can assist you after a divorce to make sure that your wishes are honored when it comes to property you might be leaving to children as well as that your loved ones are taken care of if something were to happen to you.
Having become familiar with the judicial process through your divorce, you know the emotional and financial investment expended. Although we can hope that the negativity of the divorce is behind you, the team at Cris Carter Law can assist you in implementing strategies to keep you and your ex-spouse out of court should problems arise in the future. We can fully explore more cost effective methods to resolve disputes.