Divorce can be overwhelming — emotionally and financially. While the legal process often overlooks the personal impact, financial decisions made during this time can affect your future for years to come. With the support of an experienced Certified Public Accountant, you don’t have to face it alone. We help you make clear, informed choices so you can move forward with greater confidence and peace of mind.
Linda Forman, a Certified Public Accountant, has practiced financial tax guidance, retirement planning and ERISA issues, litigation support and other areas of accounting for more than three decades.
Specializing in divorce cases, Linda supports reasonable settlements and advocates for her clients’ best interests throughout the process. She does not encourage clients to accept unfair settlements for the sake of a speedy divorce, nor does she advise using money as a negative force to hurt the other party. She helps ensure you receive the results you deserve.
Don’t use money as a weapon in divorce; it costs you in the end.
Don’t give in to pressure — trust your gut and make sure that your professionals protect you.
Having been through divorce herself, Linda brings not only financial expertise but also a deep understanding of the emotional challenges her clients face. She works to help you move forward as comfortably and securely as possible. Her goal is to support an asset and liability division that’s fair and practical for both parties. With her guidance, you’ll gain clarity around the financial aspects of your divorce — and the reassurance that smart, realistic solutions are within reach.
You could do that, but you run the risk of leaving a lot on the table. First, anything that you brought into the marriage, through inheritance and gifts, might not be part of your marital assets IF you kept them separate. Remember, these separated assets would not be part of the marital property to split; they are yours to keep. But marital assets do need to be considered and split.
Do you really know what assets each of you has? Have you considered each of your retirement plans, deferred compensation, stock options, and what the value of your investments or businesses really are? Do you know the market value of your house — especially if one of you is going to keep it?
It’s really important to know your total assets (and debts) before you decide to just walk away with whoever’s name is on an account.
Never feel pressured to file a joint return.
First look at the circumstances. Are you being forced to file a return where you know that not everything’s being reported? You are exposing yourself to audit and collection for additional taxes if IRS and your state audit the returns.
Filing separately or, under certain circumstances, filing as head of household might give you a lower-than-expected tax bill. Consult with us to determine the tax effect of not filing jointly.
Sometimes filing on your own and then amending to a joint return within three years can be a negotiating tool when it comes down to the final points of the settlement. You and your spouse could save money by amending to a joint return within three years. It is important that your marital settlement agreement spells out the terms of any savings from filing jointly so that you can split any savings fairly.
However, it is essential to understand that IRS and state collection activity does not care about your marital settlement agreement terms. Even if your agreement says your spouse is responsible for any tax due on prior returns, the government agencies will go after both of you. You may have to engage professional help to show the collection agencies that you were an innocent or injured spouse.
So, never ever be forced to file jointly when you don’t want to, or it’s not in your best interest.
If your spouse bought publicly traded stocks and bonds, there’s no problem valuing them. if there are businesses or real estate investments, you need professional valuations. You should consult us to look over your prior year tax returns to see if there are investments and property that aren’t being shown in the marital asset information given to your legal teams. As a team, we can determine if business valuations will be cost effective. Professional real estate appraisals are worth the investment. We’ve worked with attorneys for over 30 years discovering items that should be brought to light so that you can understand the value of these assets.
You will no longer have two incomes supporting the cost of mortgage, taxes and maintenance on your home. Do you have enough income to cover these costs?
There’s nothing worse than feeling house poor. Keeping a house for emotional reasons when it’s not practical is not a great idea. However, we might be figure out a time-delayed payout to keep you in the house while the kids are in school or where you can keep the house for a period of time until you’re ready to sell.
It's all part of us working as a team — you, us and your attorney — to see what kind of options you have.
Contemplating a divorce and then following through in the legal system is unsettling at best. Even the most financially astute people find this a hard process. You are breaking up a family, a home and often a long personal history that evokes both good and bad memories of the past.
While your legal team often does its best to be understanding, providing emotional support is not how your legal team should be used. It is not their field of expertise or a good use of their time.
We highly recommend both counseling and support / information groups to help you in this process. This is a life-changing time and you need to consider the resources available for you and your family, especially when children are involved.
You can contact the non-profit organization The Lilac Tree – Center for Divorce Resources for therapist referrals, support groups and information programs at 847-328-0313.
While child support payments typically end at age 18, your marital settlement agreement should address potential post-age 18 expenses such as college costs, special needs trusts and other ongoing financial considerations.
