Financial Planning
Asset division, debt splitting, retirement accounts, tax implications, and financial planning during divorce.
99 articles in this topic
Dividing a 401k in Divorce: QDRO Process and Tax Rules
How to divide a 401k retirement account in divorce using a QDRO and avoiding tax penalties.
Dividing an IRA in Divorce: Transfer Rules and Taxes
How to split an IRA during divorce without triggering taxes or penalties.
Dividing a Pension in Divorce: Valuation and Distribution
How pensions are valued and divided in divorce proceedings.
QDRO Explained Simply: What It Is and Why You Need One
A plain-language explanation of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders for retirement account division.
What Happens to the House in Divorce: Your Three Options
Sell it, buy out your spouse, or co-own: the pros and cons of each option for the marital home.
Refinancing Your Home After Divorce: Steps and Requirements
How to refinance the mortgage into one name after divorce and what you need to qualify.
Selling the House During Divorce: Timeline and Tax Implications
How to sell the marital home during divorce including timing, taxes, and splitting proceeds.
Debt Division in Divorce: Who Pays What
How marital debt is divided in divorce including mortgages, credit cards, and loans.
Community Property States: How Assets Are Split 50/50
Which states follow community property rules and exactly how assets and debts are divided.
Equitable Distribution: How Most States Divide Assets
How equitable distribution works and the factors courts consider when dividing property.
Marital vs Separate Property: What Gets Divided
The difference between marital and separate property and how courts draw the line.
Finding Hidden Assets in Divorce: Tools and Techniques
Methods for uncovering assets a spouse may be hiding during divorce.
Business Valuation in Divorce: Methods and Considerations
How businesses are valued during divorce and the different appraisal methods used.
Stock Options in Divorce: Vested and Unvested
How stock options and RSUs are treated as marital property and divided in divorce.
Cryptocurrency in Divorce: Discovery and Division
How cryptocurrency is found, valued, and divided during divorce.
Alimony Calculation: Factors Courts Consider
The key factors that determine alimony amount and duration in most states.
Temporary Alimony: Support During the Divorce Process
How temporary spousal support works while the divorce is pending.
Rehabilitative Alimony: Support While You Get Back on Your Feet
How rehabilitative alimony works and what it takes to qualify.
Permanent Alimony: When It Applies and How Long It Lasts
When courts award permanent alimony and under what circumstances it can be modified.
Lump Sum Alimony: Pros and Cons of a One-Time Payment
How lump sum alimony works as an alternative to monthly payments.
Alimony and Taxes: Current Rules for Payments and Recipients
How alimony is taxed under current law for both the payer and recipient.
Modifying Alimony: When and How to Change Payments
Circumstances that justify modifying alimony and the process for requesting changes.
When Alimony Ends: Termination Events and Rules
Events that automatically terminate alimony and how to petition for termination.
Tax Filing Status During and After Divorce
How to determine your correct tax filing status during the year of divorce and after.
Claiming Children on Taxes After Divorce: Who Gets the Exemption
Rules for which parent claims the child tax credit and dependency exemption.
Capital Gains and Divorce: Tax on Property Transfers
How capital gains taxes apply to property transferred during divorce.
Social Security After Divorce: Benefits You May Be Owed
Social Security benefits available to divorced spouses and the eligibility requirements.
Health Insurance After Divorce: COBRA and Other Options
Options for maintaining health insurance coverage after divorce.
Life Insurance in Divorce: Requirements and Beneficiary Changes
How life insurance is used in divorce to secure support obligations and protect children.
Creating a Post-Divorce Budget: Step-by-Step Guide
How to build a realistic budget based on your new income and expenses after divorce.
Certified Divorce Financial Analysts: When to Hire One
What a CDFA does and when hiring one can save you money in your divorce.
Protecting Your Credit During Divorce: Essential Steps
Steps to protect your credit score during the divorce process.
Closing Joint Accounts During Divorce: A Step-by-Step Guide
How and when to close joint bank accounts, credit cards, and other shared accounts.
Building an Emergency Fund During Divorce
Why an emergency fund matters during divorce and how to build one quickly.
Dividing Investment Accounts in Divorce: Brokerage and Mutual Funds
How non-retirement investment accounts are divided in divorce.
Real Estate Investments in Divorce: Rental Properties and Land
How investment properties are valued and divided during divorce.
Inheritance in Divorce: Is It Marital Property
When an inheritance is considered separate property and when it becomes marital.
Gifts and Divorce: Are They Separate Property
How gifts received during marriage are treated in property division.
Commingled Assets in Divorce: When Separate Becomes Marital
How mixing separate property with marital property affects division.
Military Retirement in Divorce: The 10/10 Rule and DFAS
How military retirement benefits are divided in divorce and the 10/10 rule.
Federal Employee Retirement (FERS) in Divorce
How FERS benefits are divided in divorce and the court order process.
Teacher Pension in Divorce: State Employee Retirement Division
How teacher and state employee pensions are divided in divorce.
Small Business and Divorce: Protecting Your Company
How to protect a small business during divorce and options for handling it.
Professional Practice in Divorce: Valuing a Medical or Law Practice
How professional practices are valued and divided in divorce.
Franchise Business in Divorce: Unique Valuation Issues
How franchise businesses are handled in divorce property division.
Intellectual Property in Divorce: Patents, Copyrights, and Royalties
How intellectual property rights are valued and divided in divorce.
Vehicles in Divorce: Division and Loan Responsibility
How cars, trucks, and other vehicles are divided in divorce.
Pets in Divorce: Who Gets the Dog or Cat
How courts handle pet custody and what factors influence the decision.
Dividing Personal Property in Divorce: Furniture, Jewelry, and More
How to divide household items, furniture, and personal belongings in divorce.
Managing Debt After Divorce: A Plan for Recovery
Strategies for managing and paying down debt after your divorce is finalized.
Rebuilding Your Finances After Divorce: Complete Guide
A comprehensive plan for rebuilding your financial life after divorce.
Financial Planning for Single Parents After Divorce
Financial strategies specifically for single parents adjusting to life after divorce.
Opening New Bank and Credit Accounts After Divorce
How to establish individual financial accounts after being on joint accounts.
Your Credit Score After Divorce: What Changes and What Doesn't
How divorce affects your credit score and steps to monitor and improve it.
Buying a House After Divorce: Qualifying for a Mortgage
How to qualify for a mortgage after divorce and what lenders consider.
Retirement Planning After Divorce: Rebuilding Your Savings
How to rebuild your retirement savings after losing assets in a divorce.
Insurance Changes After Divorce: Auto, Home, Life, and Health
All the insurance policies you need to update or change after divorce.
Estate Planning After Divorce: Updating Wills and Beneficiaries
Why you need to update your estate plan after divorce and what to change.
529 Plans and College Savings in Divorce
How college savings accounts are handled in divorce and continued funding.
Spousal Support vs Child Support: Key Differences
The differences between alimony and child support in terms of calculation, taxes, and duration.
Prenup Enforcement in Divorce: When They Hold Up
Conditions under which prenuptial agreements are enforceable and when courts throw them out.
Forensic Accountants in Divorce: When You Need One
What forensic accountants do in divorce cases and when hiring one is worth the cost.
Cost of Living Adjustments for Support Payments
How COLA provisions work in support orders and whether your state includes them.
Dissipation of Assets in Divorce: Wasting Marital Property
What dissipation of assets means and how courts handle it when one spouse wastes money.
Tracing Separate Property in Divorce: Proving What Is Yours
How to trace and prove that certain assets are separate rather than marital property.
Valuation Date in Divorce: When Assets Are Measured
How the valuation date for marital assets is determined and why it matters.
Equitable Distribution Factors: What Courts Weigh
The specific factors courts consider when dividing property under equitable distribution.
Mediating Financial Issues in Divorce: Property and Support
How to effectively mediate financial disputes during divorce.
Filing Taxes the Year of Divorce: Key Decisions
Tax filing strategies and decisions to make during the year your divorce is finalized.
Innocent Spouse Relief: Protection From a Former Spouse's Tax Debt
How to qualify for innocent spouse relief if your ex-spouse caused tax problems.
Qualified Domestic Trusts and Divorce
How QDOTs are handled when divorcing a non-citizen spouse.
Deferred Compensation in Divorce: Division Strategies
How deferred compensation plans are valued and divided in divorce.
RSUs in Divorce: Dividing Restricted Stock Units
How restricted stock units are classified and divided during divorce.
Employee Stock Purchase Plans in Divorce
How ESPP shares are treated as marital property and divided.
Annuities in Divorce: Valuation and Division
How annuities are handled in divorce property division.
Finding Hidden Assets in Divorce: Red Flags and Discovery Methods
How to spot hidden assets, legal discovery tools, forensic accounting, and what to do if your spouse is hiding money.
Divorce When You Own a Business: Valuation and Division
How courts value and divide businesses in divorce, protecting your company, and buyout options.
Student Loan Debt in Divorce: Who Pays and How It Splits
How student loan debt gets divided in divorce, community property vs. equitable distribution, and strategies.
Social Security Benefits After Divorce: Eligibility and How to Claim
When you can claim Social Security on your ex-spouse's record, requirements, and how it affects your own benefits.
Military Pension Division in Divorce: The 10/10 Rule Explained
How military pensions get divided, the 10/10 rule, survivor benefits, and what former spouses receive.
Alimony Tax Rules: What Changed and What You Need to Know
Current tax treatment of alimony, the 2019 rule change, and how it affects your divorce settlement.
QDRO Explained: Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce
What a QDRO is, which accounts need one, how to get one prepared, and common mistakes to avoid.
Divorce Financial Checklist: Every Document and Account to Gather
Complete checklist of financial documents to collect before and during divorce proceedings.
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement: When Courts Uphold or Reject Them
When prenups hold up in court, grounds for challenging them, and factors that affect enforceability.
Inheritance in Divorce: Is It Separate Property or Marital
When inheritance stays separate property, when it becomes marital, and how commingling changes things.
Divorce and Tax Filing Status: Married, Single, or Head of Household
How your filing status works during and after divorce, the December 31 rule, and which status saves more.
Stock Options and RSUs in Divorce: Valuation and Division Methods
How courts divide unvested and vested stock options, RSUs, and equity compensation in divorce.
Bankruptcy and Divorce: Filing Order, Timing, and What Gets Discharged
How bankruptcy interacts with divorce, whether to file before or after, and which debts survive.
Divorce Settlement vs. Trial: Cost Comparison and Strategy
The financial reality of settling vs. going to trial, average costs, time comparison, and when trial is worth it.
Getting Your Home Appraised for Divorce: Process and What to Expect
How home appraisals work in divorce, choosing an appraiser, disputing values, and using the results.
Emergency Financial Orders in Divorce: Freezing Assets and Temporary Support
How to get emergency orders to prevent asset dissipation, temporary support, and bill payment during divorce.
Creating a Post-Divorce Budget: Living on One Income
How to build a realistic budget after divorce, adjusting to single-income living, and common oversights.
Life Insurance Requirements in Divorce: Securing Support Obligations
Why courts require life insurance in divorce, how much coverage, policy ownership, and compliance.
Pension Valuation in Divorce: Coverture Fraction and Present Value Methods
How pensions get valued during divorce, the coverture fraction method, present value calculations, and which is better.
Tax Consequences of Property Transfers in Divorce
Tax rules for transferring property between spouses during divorce, basis carryover, and planning opportunities.
Dissipation of Marital Assets: When a Spouse Wastes Money Before Divorce
What counts as dissipation, how to prove it, and how courts handle wasted assets in property division.
Disability Benefits in Divorce: SSDI, SSI, and VA Benefits
How disability income is treated in divorce for property division and support, and what is protected.
Valuing a Professional Practice in Divorce: Medical, Law, and Dental
How professional practices get valued during divorce, goodwill issues, and common valuation methods.
Financial Abuse in Marriage and Divorce: Recognizing It and Getting Help
Signs of financial abuse, how it affects divorce proceedings, and resources for victims seeking independence.