A Note from Peter Neuwirth, host, the Silver Divorce show — Divorce among couples where one or both spouses are over age 50 has increased dramatically in the last few years. The challenges that lawyers and financial advisors face when working with clients going through a “Silver Divorce” can be extremely daunting. That’s why I have launched a new podcast and video show that aims to help ease the distress for those going through this painful process: Silver Divorce: How to Simplify a Painful Process.
On Season 1: Episode 1, you’ll meet this month’s guest, Marguerita Cheng, CFP® Pro, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, CFP® professional, and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth.
On this episode of Silver Divorce, Pete asks Rita:
- You are a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, CFP® professional. Discuss these roles and how you help your clients when they are going through the painful process of getting a divorce.
- Presumably, all divorces will eventually require a lawyer to get involved. How soon should attorneys become involved? And is there any way to go through this process without a lawyer?
- It seems that among older couples contemplating divorce, real estate, taxes, and retirement income are the biggest financial issues. Do you agree?
- All three of these issues are related and potentially complex. In your experience, how do most couples address those complexities, especially when one or both spouses might have brought real estate or retirement benefits to the marriage?
- I often think of a CFP as the “general contractor”, who is hired to build a solid financial house for a married couple to live in for the rest of their lives. Silver Divorce seems like a demo/renovation project where you must take apart the couple’s financial life and then rebuild what is left into two smaller financial homes for each spouse to live in separately. First, do you agree with that analogy, and second, which “subcontractors” would you suggest looking to — both for the demo and the reconstruction?
- Perhaps to strain the analogy further, if you do need to take apart a couple’s financial life, what are some tips you might have for how to do that while preserving enough of the building materials to construct two viable and sustainable lifestyles?
Powerful resource: Check out this Forbes article by Marguerita, Women Don’t Consult Financial Advisors When They Get Divorced. Here’s Why They Should.
About Silver Divorce and how Peter Neuwirth & Associates can help: Divorce among couples where one or both spouses are over age 50 has increased dramatically in the last few years. The challenges that lawyers and financial advisors face when working with clients going through a “Silver Divorce” can be extremely daunting. In fact, many professionals on whom the courts rely simply don’t have the expertise or experience to effectively address the overwhelming complexities that often arise in such cases – particularly those around real estate, taxes, and qualified retirement plans. To fill this gap, we at Silver Divorce Consulting have a team of experts who can support family lawyers, CPAs, and financial advisors in their efforts to help their clients navigate through a silver divorce without experiencing the devastating financial consequences and/or extremely long timelines associated with so many divorces that involve older couples. Click here to learn more!
About this month’s guest: Marguerita is a spokesperson for the AARP Financial Freedom Campaign and a regular columnist for Investopedia & Kiplinger. Previously, she was a Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial and an analyst and editor at Towa Securities in Tokyo, Japan. Her certifications include being a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, CFP® professional, Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, and Retirement Income Certified Professional®. As a Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) Ambassador, Marguerita helps educate the public, policymakers, and media about the benefits of competent, ethical financial planning. She serves as a Women’s Initiative (WIN) Advocate and subject matter expert for the CFP Board, contributing to developing examination questions for the CFP® Certification Examination. Rita volunteers for several organizations, including the CFP Board Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) hearings; she has also served on the Financial Planning Association (FPA) National Board of Directors from 2013-2015 and is a past president of the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area (FPA NCA). Her awards include the Ameriprise Financial Presidential Award for Quality of Advice and the prestigious Japanese Monbukagakusho Scholarship. In 2017, she was named the #3 Most Influential Financial Advisor in the Investopedia Top 100, a Woman to Watch by InvestmentNews, and a Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE®) by the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC). Click here to learn more: MargueritaCheng.com.
Click here to learn more about actuary and author Peter Neuwirth: www.PeterNeuwirth.com • Listen to our podcasts on PeterNeuwirthRadio.com • Watch all of our episodes: www.PeterNeuwirth.tv
Until next Monday: May you never cut what you can untie. — Hope Katz Gibbs, founder and president, Inkandescent® Inc. Inkandescent.us
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