Divorce Financial Planning

Separation and Divorce are a complex and stressful life events. There are 3 elements to address: Legal, Emotional and Financial. Every separation and divorce has a unique tilt, some may have many legal issues, others may be mainly financial, while others may have an intense emotional aspect.

Working with professionals to help you through this time is a critical component to surviving separation and divorce.

MacDonald Advisory has identified that people need help with their financials and it requires a professional with special financial divorce qualifications and experience to get things right.

What we Do

We provide an objective assessment of potential financial settlement scenarios.

Keep in mind that our role is not to provide legal opinion or advice (that comes from your family lawyer) but rather we help you address the special financial issues of divorce with data that can help you achieve an equitable settlement.

You do not have to have a lawyer to work with us and we strongly believe that we should be your first call when exploring separation or divorce.

We help assess the following financial settlement scenarios:

• Child and Spousal Support
• Cash Flow
• Budgeting
• Insurance
• Protection for support
• Splitting assets
• Taxation
• Wills
• Power of Attorney
• Estate consideration

Professional Support

When money and emotions are at play, things can quickly become complicated, but they don't have to be. We are equipped to provide projections of the choices you face during life transitions. We generate clear reports that allow people to make decisions they understand and have confidence in. The decisions you make today can have far reaching effects on the rest of your life.

Who do we work with?

DIY Divorce (self-filers): These are people looking to save money on divorce. The parties involved get along but have questions regarding their financials. We do not give legal advice but we work through the household financials and provide clarity where needed.

Mediation: Many people prefer alternative dispute resolutions rather than pursue a contentious day in court. When people seek out a Mediator to help them work through their separation and divorce, they may require an education or special help organizing their finances. We step in here to help sort through the noise.

Collaborative: DIY and Mediation doesn’t provide legal advice, however many people require legal advice to protect their interests and work through what is important to them in their separation and divorce. We are strong advocates of legal advice and believe very much in the Collaborative Divorce model. Financial and mental health professionals are brought into this process when needed to help people achieve an advice driven and equitable divorce that focuses on what really matters. We are registered Collaborative Professionals at MacDonald Advisory and work with a select few family lawyers in Edmonton in the Collaborative space.

Litigation: When people worry about their interests and require a strong advocate, alternative dispute resolution processes may not be the right choice. There are very skilled litigators in Edmonton who work through divorce and protect their clients' interests. It doesn’t always have to be nasty - many litigators are very skilled and are able to work through a quick process without going to court. We are called by litigators to help work through scenarios and provide tax planning, retirement planning and estate planning within the process to make sure settlements work for their clients.

We are connected with divorcing parties in one of three ways:

• Social media (association websites, our website, LinkedIn)
• Through divorcing parties representatives -- family lawyer (litigator), Collaborative lawyer or mediator.
• Referral

In Collaborative Law, we work as a Financial Neutral for both parties involved.

DIY filers and those pursuing mediation hire us either individually or together.

In litigation, we can only be hired to work for one individual. We are not a neutral in this environment.

Cost

1. Our first meeting is complimentary.
2. We do not charge for any conversations we have with your lawyers.
3. We do not charge for travel.
4. We have free parking at our office downtown
5. Once engaged, our services are $150/hr.

For many, divorce is the largest financial transaction of their lives. We should be your first call if you are thinking about separation and divorce. We are very familiar with the different paths to divorce and are connected with the best divorce professionals in Edmonton.

You are not alone – pick up the phone or send us an email. We are strictly confidential and have the resources to help you.