When you’re separating, it’s natural to have concerns about your financial future, especially if you haven’t had much experience managing money. Speaking with a financial expert can be a good idea to give you peace of mind about your short and long-term financial security.
You don’t have to work towards your former partner’s budget and money goals any longer, but perhaps you need help figuring your new ones out. A financial advisor or coach can support you through the financial aspects of your separation, help you understand your needs, shape your vision of the future, and create the path to get there.
How can a financial expert help?
Financial wellbeing: Money can provoke many emotions – good and bad. We all have a relationship with money that can go right back to childhood. Your emotions around money can really be heightened when going through a separation and dealing with increased uncertainty. An empathetic financial expert can work with you to build a healthy relationship with your finances and improve your financial wellbeing by understanding how you can mindfully spend and save your money.
Clarity for decisions: A financial expert can provide support and clarity during this challenging time, talking out some of the emotions to help you make rational decisions about how you choose to structure your separation settlement and which assets you choose to hold on to.
Financial planning: They can help you create a clear and achievable financial plan for your future. They can consider your income, expenses, and goals and tailor a plan that suits your specific needs.
Understanding assets and debts: They can help you understand your current financial situation, including any assets and debts. This clarity is crucial during a separation.
Cash flow and budgeting: If you’re new to managing finances, a financial advisor can assist in creating a budget that ensures you can meet your financial obligations while also saving for the future.
Housing decisions: Whether you’re refinancing your home, searching for a new one, or exploring the rental market, an advisor can create custom options to boost your confidence in your choices.
Insurance review: An advisor can comprehensively review your insurance coverage and protect you against unforeseen events.
Investment guidance: If you have investments or want to invest funds from your settlement, a financial advisor can guide you on making the most of your money.
Retirement planning: Planning for your retirement is vital. A financial advisor can help you prepare for your post-work years.
Tax implications: Separation can have tax implications. A financial advisor can guide you on how to navigate these changes efficiently.
Meet the financial expert in our network
Ryan Watson, Tribeca Financial – Financial Advice
Ryan Watson founded Tribeca Financial with the goal of helping people live their best lives. He was frustrated with the financial planning industry’s focus on ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ and wanted to create a different kind of company, one that was focused on helping people achieve their own unique financial goals.
Ryan and his team of expert financial advisors work with clients from all walks of life to help them grow and preserve their wealth, have the capacity to absorb financial shocks and have the freedom to make choices in life. He wants his clients to be able to live life as they wish, on their own terms.
With a passion for working with people at a crossroads in their lives, such as separation, Ryan and the Tribeca team are there to advise, protect, and support their clients’ financial wellbeing through the process and beyond.
Do you need advice about money in separation?
Take our Q&A to get your own tailored Support Hub and recommendation to trusted professionals to support all your financial needs.
Start the Q&AFinancial advice versus financial coaching
Financial advisors are registered to offer long-term financial planning, advice, and recommendations for managing your money. They may assist you with setting goals and the plan to reach them. They may also work with you on an ongoing basis managing your investments and financial wellbeing.
A financial coach offers more of a guiding hand to help you organise and facilitate the financial aspects of separation. A coach who specialises in supporting you through your financial separation can help you understand your financial position, your assets and liabilities, income and expenses, and guide you through financial documents that might be unfamiliar to you and the financial information required for a property and financial settlement. They can also collate the relevant financial information and all supporting documentation in a form that can be presented to your family lawyer or used in private negotiations.
A coach cannot offer financial advice – rather they provide financial education and support through your separation.
When should I speak to a financial advisor?
When facing a divorce or separation, Tribeca’s best advice is to give yourself time. Look after yourself and your family first. Don’t rush any decisions. When you’re ready, they are there to help you with your financial choices and plan for the future.
There’s no one right time to speak to an expert. There are benefits to seeking financial support at many stages of the separation journey, depending on your situation.
Before you separate
You may choose to engage a financial expert before you separate, particularly if you have a complex asset pool or are new to managing finances and need assistance with impending changes to cash flow and budgeting.
Before or during negotiations
A financial advisor can empower you by helping you know your short and long-term needs and goals before you enter your negotiations. This gives you clarity on what you need. It also lets you know what you can compromise on in your agreement.
A financial coach can guide you to locate all your assets and liabilities and prepare your documentation negotiate from a place of empowerment and clarity.
After you settle
Once your property is settled, you may wonder what’s next. A coach can support you with financial literacy and budgeting for your new life. A financial advisor can help you set goals for a secure financial future with the freedom to make financial choices, absorb shocks and enjoy your new life.
Can a financial advisor or coach tell me what I’m entitled to?
Financial advisors and coaches can’t answer questions relating to your legal rights and entitlements around your asset pool.
If your money questions are about your entitlements, the laws and regulations related to asset division, parenting matters, and child support, your next step is to educate yourself with The Separation Guide Legal Plan on the Support Hub and speak with a family lawyer.
If you have money questions about the best way to manage your money, set your financial goals and move from surviving to thriving financially, then it’s time to engage the help of a financial advisor.
The Separation Guide aims to make separation and divorce simpler, more manageable and less stressful. To learn more about how one of our Network Members could support your separation, take our free three-minute Q&A.
Disclaimer
The information in our resources is general only. Consider getting in touch with a professional adviser if you need legal, financial or well-being support.
