Financial Mediation Provides Transparency To Marriage Dissolution

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Edward Sachs CPA/ABV CFF

The financial aspects of divorce pose an important obstacle to couples going through dissolution proceedings. Financial Mediation provides an opportunity to get the numbers on the table, identify areas of agreement and to zero in on potential areas of dispute outside of an adversarial setting.

Financial Mediation provides you with the two things you may need most to reach an agreement with your spouse regarding your divorce settlement.

Financial insight and understanding, not only of the issues you face now, but also the foreseeable issues you may face in the future because of what you agree to at this time, are critical. If you are negotiating the division of property and assets, all of which have value, it makes perfect sense that you understand all there is to know about those values. And likely future values. This settlement will shape the rest of your financial life.

Having a financial mediator, who understands the financial subject matter, and can illustrate the long and short-term outcomes of what is being considered, provides two benefits from one professional.
No advice is provided to either you or your spouse during a financial mediation. As a financial mediator, I will simply show both of you the impact, upon each of you, of the various possible settlement conditions you are considering. That is informed decision making.

Together we will work to achieve as much of each parties’ goals as possible. My objective is a win-win solution for both parties.

Is Collaborative Cheap or Cheaper?

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Edward Sachs CPA/ABV CFF

I just completed a pro bono matter in the 11th Judicial Circuit Model Collaborative Program in Judge Sarah Zabel’s division. We were able to help a young couple with one child get through the final part of their divorce in a very peaceful fashion. But as our team debriefed and completed the FACP survey, the cost of a Collaborative divorce became very evident to me. In this matter, there was no equitable distribution or alimony, just child support and parenting issues, most of which they had already put in place. Even if the four professionals had charged reduced rates, I estimate the billing would have been close to $10,000. There is just no way around it when you have four professionals.

On the billing side, I recently completed one Collaborative case in which my bill, in addition to the two attorneys’, were each around $8,000, and the facilitator’s bill was $6,000. These parties were excellent Collaborative team members and had no children that were minors. The case was settled in an unconventional way that would not happen in Court. Because of unusual circumstances, there is no question this matter would have cost the parties two to three times more in litigation.
And finally, I had another recent case with total fees of more than $130,000. The two attorneys were about $100,000, I was around $20,000, and the facilitator was $10,000. To me, the fact that the attorney’s fees were so much is indicative of the client problems and the difficulty of the issues. In litigation, this case would be ripe for much higher forensic accounting fees, and the issues could have gotten nasty. The team, in our debrief, agreed that the matter would have cost at least twice as much in litigation.
So, the answer is that a Collaborative divorce is not cheap, but in my opinion and experience, it is certainly cheaper.My advice to those who can’t afford a Collaborative divorce and don’t qualify for pro bono programs is to consider Financial Mediation. Learn more as I discuss Financial Mediation on Monday.