Two years to sanity
It typically takes about two years to get over the death of a loved one.
A divorce is similar. Whether you’d initiated the proceedings or were completely blind-sided, divorce marks the death of the marriage. And since that marriage had been a part of you for so long, there’s a grieving process you will go through. And—you might not want to hear this—it will typically take about two years before you’re back to your normal—no, make that “better”—self.
I know this firsthand. As a CPA, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional, I’m also divorced, myself.
Famous psychologists have defined the grieving process. And they’ve even come up with the different stages of it, such as denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
But here’s what most people won’t tell you: Just because those stages are conveniently numbered “1,” “2,” “3,” and so on, does not mean that you will follow them in that order. More to the point, you’ll move forward… and then back. And then forward again. And then perhaps back even more. So what you might assume goes 1-2-3 will, in all likelihood, go more like 1-2-3-2-4-1-2-2-3-4-5…. You get the idea.
But what does any of this have to do with money?
Factoring out the emotions
As I’d mentioned, I’m divorced myself. In that regard, I’m no different from you or any other divorced (or divorcing) woman out there.
But in another regard, I’m very different: I’m a natural-born numbers nerd.
I was always good at math. It came to me easily. I liked it. I still do. Math is nothing if not logical. It’s the opposite of emotional.
(See where I’m going with this?)
I realized, pretty early on after my divorce, that I was fairly unique in my skill-set among divorced women. And that’s what put me on the path to where I am today: I specialize in helping women, just like you, with the financial side of divorce. Because the women I help not only aren’t usually math wizards, but they’ve rarely even been responsible for (or sometimes even exposed to) the financial side of the marriage: The taxes. The investments. The retirement plans. All of the stuff that you now must consider very, very carefully.
Because in divorce, when it comes to making your case (with your attorney’s help, of course), you only get one chance.
I’m here to help you, and your attorney. And unlike your attorney, I’m also here for you after the divorce, to get your financial house in order, to plan out a future that’s right for you.
I’ll help you get to that place where you feel more confident, capable of managing your finances, your career, and knowing where your income-earning capacity needs to be, so that if you do A, B, and C, you’ll know you’ll have a good outcome. In other words, I’ll help you with that all-important plan.
It might take you two years to get past this emotionally. But I can start helping you, financially, right now.
Contact me and let’s get you on the right path.