Navigating the financial aspects of divorce with clarity and confidence

As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst^®, Stu Malakoff provides financial guidance in the divorce process to one or both spouses. Ideally, Stu likes to get involved early on. This is because he has found that the biggest practical obstacle most people have around initiating a divorce is not knowing beforehand whether they can emerge financially independent so that they can confidently get on with their lives.

“That’s where I add the most value. I help divorcing clients to inventory their finances and sources of income.  Armed with accurate data, I can then give some clarity to one or both spouses on what their financial picture might look like post-divorce, and if it aligns with their priorities for their new life. Even very affluent families are unclear about how their resources will “translate” into their desired post-marital lifestyle. Once articulated, those objectives can drive an optimal divorce settlement, so that a win-win outcome is achieved.”

Stu helps his clients come up with ideas they can take to an attorney or mediator to craft an equitable distribution, taking the marital assets and splitting them in a logical, tax-efficient way based on each spouses’ respective post-marital priorities, not necessarily just down the middle. “Anyone can split every asset equally, but that’s usually not an optimal outcome for either party.”

Working with divorce professionals

Stu also provides support to attorneys and mediators who have been engaged by one or both parties to facilitate information gathering.