1 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: I'm is there any life event that's more expensive, confusing, 2 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: and stressful than a divorce. You're not only dividing your family, 3 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: You're also figuring out the disposition of a lot of assets, portfolios, 4 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: real estate, trusts, businesses more. I'm Barry Ritolts, and on 5 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: today's edition of At the Money, we're gonna discuss the 6 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: finances of divorce and full disclosure. I am and remain 7 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: happily married for thirty two years. To help us unpack 8 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: all of this and what it means for your portfolio, 9 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: let's bring in Patrick Kilbain of the ria Omen Wealth 10 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: Partners and also leads the Divorce Advisory Group. So so Patrick, 11 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: let's start with the basics. You focus on people going 12 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:10,400 Speaker 1: through divorce. What's the first financial triage you do. When 13 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: a new client calls. 14 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,319 Speaker 2: Barry, great to be with you, thank you for having me. 15 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 2: When somebody gets hit with this bomb, when this bomb 16 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 2: is dropped on them. You know, I'm a big fan 17 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 2: of coach Lou Holtz and he has an acronym WIN. 18 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 2: It stands for what's important now. So I generally talk 19 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 2: to the person who this might be their first exposure 20 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:32,960 Speaker 2: with the legal system, and I figure out what their 21 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 2: goal is it has their estranged spouse cut them off 22 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 2: from the cash flow from the assets? Is this a 23 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 2: child custody situation? You know, what is the first thing 24 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 2: that we need to handle? And then it's sort of 25 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: giving them the confidence and the reassurance that hey, you're 26 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 2: not the first nor the last who's going to go 27 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 2: through this, and I'm going to be your shirpa through 28 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 2: this process. 29 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: So I imagine there are some consistent, large money mistae 30 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: people make in the first thirty to sixty days of 31 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: a separation. Obviously it's very emotional, and you know, most 32 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: people don't go through these sort of things repeatedly. What 33 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: sort of mistakes do you see before the lawyers and 34 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: the written agreements start showing up? 35 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 2: Like most people who have a long history together, they 36 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 2: have solved a lot of problems together. And I see 37 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:30,559 Speaker 2: people trying to work the divorce settlement out among themselves 38 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 2: and the spouse that may not have all of the data, 39 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 2: all of the information, may not know the extent of 40 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 2: their holdings, may make some agreements before they have any 41 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 2: idea what their rights are. So, like you Berry, I'm 42 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 2: a lawyer, although I'm not practicing anymore, I litigated high 43 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 2: networth divorce cases for ten years, and what I try 44 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 2: to do is not give legal advice, but say, hey, 45 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,080 Speaker 2: let's slow down a little bit and let's make sure 46 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 2: that you have a full understanding of what you're agreeing 47 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 2: to or waving before you do it. 48 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: So I think about all the assets that are involved 49 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: in a family dissolution. There's cash, there's retirement accounts, there's property, 50 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: there's business interests. How do you help clients understand the 51 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: value of what they're negotiating, either cash up front versus 52 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: a longer term set of assets. 53 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,359 Speaker 2: Great question. So I try to divide everything into different buckets. 54 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 2: So I make sure that my clients aren't comparing apples 55 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 2: to giraffes. They've got to be comparing apples to apples. 56 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 2: And depending on where the spouses are situated and where 57 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 2: each one of them wants to go, we know that 58 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 2: all assets aren't created equal, so there may be an 59 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 2: opportunity working together to reach a divorce settlement that'll be 60 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 2: more advantageous for both spouses than what they would end 61 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 2: up in a court if the court just took a 62 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 2: meat cleaver and busted everything in half. 63 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: So you you have a background as a a matrimonial lawyer. 64 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: How does that change the way you sit down as 65 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: a financial advisor when you're having these conversations with clients 66 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: who are just starting the divorce process. 67 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 2: Excellent question. I have a perspective from litigating these cases 68 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:23,239 Speaker 2: for ten years and seeing people at the very beginning 69 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 2: of the process, and I think a financial planner, a 70 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 2: wealth manager, an asset manager who may not have that 71 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,720 Speaker 2: same experience, may want to get right into the details. 72 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 2: You mentioned the word triage earlier in this conversation. I 73 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 2: mean this client, this family is coming to you. I 74 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 2: mean they are experiencing trauma. The wound may be fresh. 75 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 2: So I think we really have to slow down. And 76 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 2: it's sort of like, you know what, when you see it, 77 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 2: you're ready to delve into the financial planning and start 78 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 2: talking about Barry two point zero, when Barry is ready 79 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 2: to start thinking about Buried two point zero. But a 80 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,159 Speaker 2: lot of these people come in and they're at a 81 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 2: total fog. They're trying to figure out where their next 82 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 2: dollar is going to come from, how is cash flow 83 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 2: going to even let's back up, where am I going 84 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 2: to live? So we have to sort of satisfy that 85 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 2: bottom level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs before we can 86 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 2: even get into that financial planning conversation. 87 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: So the past few divorces I've witnessed from relatively close, 88 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 1: the big question becomes who gets the house? It always 89 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: seems to be one of those things. It's an emotional decision, 90 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: it's a financial decision. Is there a better framework for 91 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: addressing that? How do you avoid that from becoming so toxic? 92 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: So were the roses sort of disaster? 93 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 2: I think you have to really start and understand why 94 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 2: somebody wants the house. You made a great point. Is 95 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 2: this an emotional decision? Is this a financial decision? Do 96 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 2: I have comfort in my neighbors? Is the house house 97 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 2: in a public school district where I want my children 98 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 2: or child to continue to go to school until they 99 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 2: reach the age of eighteen? And then once you really 100 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 2: have a good idea why that's the case? And Barry, 101 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 2: maybe that spouse wants the house just because they know 102 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 2: the other spouse wants the house. So we have to 103 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 2: sort of take a step back and understand the true motivations. 104 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 2: And then we start talking about the financial problems and 105 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 2: the tax problems that come. Well, a married couple of 106 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 2: this has been your primary residence for two of the 107 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 2: last five years. You can exclude up to half a 108 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 2: million dollars of a capital gain if there is one. 109 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 2: Of course, if you're single, then you can only exclude 110 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 2: up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of the game. 111 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 2: What's the basis? Do we have a state tax situation? 112 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 2: So there are a lot of different layers, and I 113 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,359 Speaker 2: again back to my previous comment, I don't think we 114 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 2: can even hit on that until we have a true 115 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 2: understanding of what the client's motivation is and when they're 116 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 2: emotionally prepared to have that financial discussion. 117 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: You mentioned taxes. It's easy to imagine how taxes can 118 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: just flip the math what are the big tax traps 119 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: and divorce settlements to avoid? 120 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 2: All of these assets are different. They may be tax 121 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 2: at ordinary income rates, capital gains rates. To your listeners 122 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 2: a very sophisticated audience, But some of our clients who 123 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 2: are going through this process are also very sophisticated, but 124 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 2: that hasn't been their role in the household. So a 125 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 2: lot of it is re educating them and understanding or 126 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 2: trying to have an idea what is their tax situation? 127 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 2: Going to be post filing. They may be in a 128 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 2: totally different tax filing status. They may be going back 129 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 2: to work, they may not be going to work. They 130 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 2: may have investment income imputed to them. They may have 131 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 2: to use IRS rule seventy two to t if they're 132 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 2: before fifty nine and a half to be able to 133 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 2: tap into retirement accounts because of imputed investment income. Of course, 134 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 2: those laws vary by state, but that's why it's so 135 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 2: helpful to have somebody who really knows that perspective and 136 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 2: can work with the various tax and estate planning professionals 137 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 2: to be thinking about these issues. 138 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: What about retirement assets? What do people need to know 139 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: about avoiding penalties or getting the bad allocation? There's a 140 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: whole other qdro thing that I'm wholly unfamiliar with. What 141 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,679 Speaker 1: are the issues in divorced with four to one k's 142 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: four h three bs iras any joint or individual retirement asset? 143 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, such a magnificent question. You and I talked about 144 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 2: quadros preparing for this conversation. QUADRO is an acronym that 145 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 2: stands for qualified domestic relations order. It is a subsequent 146 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 2: court order that is used to segregate a retirement plan 147 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 2: that's subject to ARISA. ARISA stands for the Employee Retirement 148 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:05,079 Speaker 2: in Security Act. But if your spouse is a participate 149 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 2: in a government plan, a government plan may not accept 150 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 2: a quadro. Then how in the heck do we divide 151 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 2: that marital asset? So again, I think it always requires 152 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,200 Speaker 2: us to take a step back and get a hold 153 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 2: of a document called a summary plan description, which sets 154 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 2: out the rules and regulations of each retirement account. Barry. 155 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 2: We've heard people say all the time the only way 156 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 2: to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. 157 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 2: And whether it's a retirement account or some other asset, 158 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 2: we have to be very intentional and very careful and 159 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 2: go with each asset. What is it? Is it a 160 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 2: qualified or a non qualified account? How do we divide it? 161 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 2: What are the tax consequences? And I know you and 162 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 2: I are going to talk about other contingent assets down 163 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 2: the road, like carry and restricted stock and so on 164 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 2: and so forth, But what's the best way to actually 165 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 2: accomplish this on each asset? And then you know, maybe 166 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 2: with asset with that asset we say, wait a minute, 167 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,319 Speaker 2: I don't want to have to deal with my estranged 168 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 2: spouse in the future to get my fair share. Isn't 169 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 2: there a way that I can, you know, barter this 170 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:17,680 Speaker 2: away and get something else that works better for me. 171 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 2: So those are all the discussions that are asset by 172 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 2: asset level. 173 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: That's complicated. Let's talk about something even more complicated. What 174 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 1: do you do with I liquid assets private businesses that 175 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: are not Hey, it's easy to split a portfolio of 176 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: publicly traded stock. What do you do about a company 177 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: that is private and one of the spouses is running 178 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: and how do you put how do you know figure 179 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: out what it's worth and who gets what? 180 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 2: You and I can look at our brokerage account statement 181 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 2: or a retirement account statement and have a pretty good 182 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 2: idea what that asset is worth. With an asset that 183 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 2: we know that has value but we're not sure what 184 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 2: that value is required to hire another professional called the 185 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 2: business appraiser or a valuation expert. And the crazy thing 186 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 2: about the divorce world, Barry, is it imposes these fantasy 187 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:15,679 Speaker 2: rules and regulations that you and I would never have 188 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 2: to discuss with a married couple. We talk about enterprise 189 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 2: goodwill and personal goodwill when we come to the value 190 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:27,280 Speaker 2: of a business. So your firm a valuation expert can say, okay, 191 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 2: this firm is worth x you know, million dollars. But 192 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 2: in a divorce context, especially my home state of Florida, 193 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:38,439 Speaker 2: we have to look at what's the value of Barry's 194 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:44,079 Speaker 2: firm without Barry, and the value of Barry's firm without Barry. 195 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 2: That's the marital asset in Florida, that's what we have 196 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 2: to divide. So a year prior, somebody may have offered 197 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 2: to buy the family business for fifteen million dollars. But 198 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 2: if you take Barry out of that family business and 199 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 2: the value of the office buildings and the furniture and 200 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 2: sell and so is a million, then the marital share 201 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:04,720 Speaker 2: is five hundred grand And you have a spouse thinking, 202 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 2: wait a minute, I'm going to end up with seven 203 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 2: and a half million dollars of this asset, but really 204 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 2: in maybe half a million dollars, or you know, you 205 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 2: can pick any other example. So you need that expert, 206 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,559 Speaker 2: and then you need to understand how the state dissolution 207 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 2: of marriage laws apply to valuing that asset within the 208 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 2: context of a divorce. 209 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 1: Really really interesting. What do you tell clients about cash 210 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 1: flow planning right after the divorce? Suddenly whatever emergency fund credit, 211 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 1: even just a household budget. All that stuff gets thrown 212 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,079 Speaker 1: out of the window. How do you rebuild that? How 213 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: do you face that first year of spending reality. 214 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 2: In the context of the divorce negotiations. I try to 215 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 2: help my clients and lawyers think about asking for a 216 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 2: larger than normal emergency savings fund. We talk about, hey, look, 217 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 2: this is how much money you have to spend on 218 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 2: a monthly basis. But that first year where this now 219 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 2: single person is in charge of their monthly budget, there 220 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,439 Speaker 2: may be some surprises, and there may be a learning 221 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 2: curve and so on and so forth. So I try 222 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 2: to really build up that experience, and maybe even if 223 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,439 Speaker 2: it's not an alimony case, maybe it might be helpful 224 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 2: to get the case settled if there can be alimony 225 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 2: for a short period of time, to help with that 226 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,199 Speaker 2: transition and ease somebody in to being responsible for probably 227 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 2: the first time in a long time, of managing their 228 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 2: own cash flow. 229 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 1: So final question, if you could give one piece of 230 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: advice to someone starting the divorce process, what's the best 231 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 1: decision or even document then improves the outcome for everybody. 232 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 2: In my state, there's a document that's required to be 233 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 2: filed by each party in every case, and it's called 234 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 2: the financial affidavit. I see in New York I think 235 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 2: it's called a network statement or so on and so forth. 236 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 2: It is a daunting, overwhelming document, but really it's a 237 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 2: form that you're normally required to sign. You take an 238 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 2: oath and say that what you put on here is truthful. 239 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 2: But you outline all of your sources of income, all 240 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 2: of your expenses, all of your assets, and all of 241 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 2: your liabilities. So from a financial standpoint, if you could 242 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 2: take the time and make that as accurate as possible, 243 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 2: that's going to really go a long way to helping you, 244 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 2: your lawyer and the other financial professionals on your team 245 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 2: get a really precise idea of what we're dealing with. 246 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 2: So spend that time, take the time upfront, and you 247 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 2: may not have all the information that you need to 248 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 2: answer that question until you get the discovery from the 249 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 2: other side. And what I tell people all the time 250 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 2: is that's okay, disclose it and then put a footnote 251 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 2: that says, hey, I don't have this information, and when 252 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 2: I get it, I'll update it. And then when you 253 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 2: really break it down like that and let people know, hey, 254 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 2: you can amend this document. I see them start to 255 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 2: relax a little bit and say, okay, I got this. 256 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 1: So to wrap up, I'm going to quote Patrick, divorce 257 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: is really a financial or tax problem disguised in a 258 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: divorce costume, and that really sums it up. It's as 259 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: much about separating your personal lives as it is to 260 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: figuring out your financial and asset lives going forward. Take 261 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: it seriously, make sure you get good counsel and follow 262 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: the process that your lawyer and financial advisor walks you through. 263 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: I'm Barry Results. This has been Boomburgs at the Money