Adobe Stock
As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, or CDFA™, and financial adviser, I work with a broad swath of society. I have been fortunate to assist so many great people over my 25 years as an adviser and eight as a CDFA™. However, with the divorce analysis I do, I have too often come across certain unrealistic expectations as it pertains to divorce process and its outcomes.
Spousal Support
Fred Gartrell
I normally handle three to four divorce cases per year. Inevitably, spousal support is a topic of conversation. In Texas, receiving spousal support is a rarity. Unfortunately, this isn’t well understood. I often get blank stares from my clients when I inform them of this fact (this isn’t to say spousal support is impossible, just rare). While the maximum one can receive is $5,000 per month, in practice it rarely happens. The more each party in a divorce understands this, the smoother the process will go.
CDFA Only
While the CDFA™ designation has been around since 1993, very few existed in practice until the last fifteen years. I became one in 2015. As more plaintiffs and defendants in divorce became aware of this designation, more and more wanted to hire CDFAs™ and bypass attorneys all together. This is a terrible idea. We are not attorneys. We can’t give legal advice. We are a good complement for an attorney, not a substitute for one. I get at least one call a year from someone who found me and wants to only work with me, while not hiring an attorney. I never take those cases because if your case is complicated enough to need a CDFA™, then it is a must you have an attorney.
Community Property Division
The first meeting I have with a client normally involves going through the financial inventory of the plaintiff or defendant I’m working with. Each party in a divorce fills out an inventory. As with spousal support, often parties in a divorce are overly optimistic abut their share of the marital property they will receive. While there are times when a spouse who was cheated on may receive a larger portion of the marital estate, this is not guaranteed. Since Texas is a Community Property state, much of the time the split of marital property will be quite close to 50/50. I will have clients come in and expect 70% or more of the marital estate. Outside of a rare reason, a 70/30 split isn’t going to happen.
The divorce process is hard enough without having unrealistic expectations about spousal support, needs for an attorney, and property division. If you are going to file for divorce, go in with a good team of professionals who guide you while keeping your expectations within reason.
Fred Gartrell is a financial adviser and CDFA™ with Baird in Fort Worth. He can be reached by calling 817-339-3439 or by emailing to [email protected] or visiting his website at https://fgartrell.bairdwealth.com/