Drafting your essential divorce team players

The NFL draft got me thinking about other types of teams this week. A divorce lawyer may not be the only professional that you need to help you successfully navigate (i.e. win) the divorce process. Often, you need a team of divorce experts to help with specific portions of your matter. Gathering this divorce team, and more importantly, choosing the right members, takes thought and should be done in collaboration with your attorney.

I try to identify potential needs for these experts at the initial consult. Some cases require several professionals. For example, in one case I may need a business evaluator for property distribution, a tax lawyer, and a co-parenting counselor for custody. Other cases may require only a real estate appraiser.

The sooner you can get these experts working on your behalf, the better position you will be in for both settlement and litigation. Also, once the experts are on your side, they can’t be drafted by the other team (i.e. your soon to be ex-spouse). By hiring the experts early, you have a better chance of having first pick. So who are these potential and essential members of your divorce team?

Financial Divorce Team Members

Accountant

Accountants are not only tax preparers. Accountants also provide other several key functions that assist clients during and after the divorce process. For example, an accountant can help analyze vital financial records. They can also assist in determining a party’s true income.

What is reported on a person’s personal or business income tax returns may not be what the law sees as his/her income for determining a child support and/or spousal support obligation. This can mean that a party can either over or under pay on support unless their earnings are calculated correctly. An accountant can accurately determine the person’s income available for support so this does not happen.

Accountants can also analyze the tax consequences of certain actions, i.e. selling a real estate property, liquidating stock accounts or withdrawing monies from a 401(k). This information can help the client avoid (or at least be aware of) certain financial pitfalls when crafting and/or reviewing settlement proposals. There is nothing worse than finding out that you owe taxes that could have been avoided if the transaction was simply structured differently.

Business evaluator

Businesses owned by one or both of the parties are often considered marital assets for division. However, it is difficult to determine the value of those business assets without the help of a business evaluator. These experts are trained in determining the value of a business for your divorce case.

Generally, your attorney will have some recommendations for you. Look for someone who is responsive and has experience valuing businesses similar to the one in your matter. It is important that you don’t go with the least expensive option simply to save money. The business is usually the largest asset in the case. Think of the fees for this divorce team member as an investment in your divorce award.

Real estate appraiser

Many divorce cases involve the valuing of real estate such as the marital residence, vacation homes, and rental properties. If the property is not going to be sold and the parties do not agree on its value, then it needs to be evaluated by a real estate appraiser. These appraisers are trained to provide an opinion as to the fair market value of the property.

Generally, the appraiser will tour the property and review relevant comparative real estate sales to form to make their decision. Please note that this is different than getting an opinion for a listing price from a realtor based on a comparative market analysis, also called a CMA report. In my experience, a formal appraisal carries more weight with the judge than a CMA report.

Recently, I’ve had a lot of clients looking to sites such as Zillow, Redfin or Realtor.com to obtain a estimate of the value of their home. These sites may provide some insight as to value, particularly for properties in areas with lots of sales. However, these estimates do not take the place of an appraisal and will generally not be afforded the same credibility as an opinion from a certified appraiser.

For example, last week I received a Zillow report indicating that the house had a value of $378,000. This is approximately $50,000 higher than my appraiser’s finding of $325,000. Still more confusing was Realtor.com found the value to be $349,900. The difference in those figures is dramatic! I hope this disparity reinforces why you should get a formal appraisal.

Realtor

Sometimes neither party wants to (or can afford) to keep the house and it has to be listed for sale. In those cases, the parties will have to find a realtor. Sometimes the parties agree on the realtor that they want to use. However, sometimes the parties are in disagreement or don’t know who to hire.

I recommend that the clients find a realtor with the following qualities: (1) understands the geographical area that the house is located in and has sold other properties in that location before; (2) is responsive to calls and emails; (3) is willing to work with both parties; (4) understands the financial situation of the parties, particularly whether there is money to do repairs or improvements; and (5) is committed to selling the house quickly and for the best price.

Personal property appraiser

In a previous post, I told you that one of the ways to keep your divorce legal fees low was to not fight over personal property. This advice is still true. However, there are situations where parties have personal property that needs to be appraised as it holds significant value. No, I’m not talking about a crockpot (again, true story).

Items that you may want to consider having appraised are: fine art and rugs, crystal, jewelry and watches, antique cars, farm equipment (if not part of a business appraisal), and certain furniture. I have found it difficult to find appraisers for these items. In those cases, I have looked to reputable sellers or auction houses for assistance. You want to make sure that the chosen appraiser is well-qualified and, if possible, has appraised similar items before.

Financial advisor

While high school may have taught you about quadratic equations, Shakespeare, and Newton’s theory of relativity in high school, it likely didn’t teach you about personal finance and investing. There are a lot of personal finance blogs and podcasts available on these topics to help you learn. However, in some cases, clients need help in making sound financial decisions. This is particularly true when they were not the party who handled the household finances during the marriage.

Financial advisors are trained to help clients make smart money choices. Also, some financial advisors can help clients structure their divorce settlement before the case is resolved. The purpose of this is to maximize the potential property award so that it meets the client’s long term financial goals.

However, just like divorce lawyers, not every financial advisor will be a good fit for your divorce team. Some require a certain minimum deposit of cash and retirement assets. Others don’t provide as much hands-on attention as the client needs. Still, some of my female clients would prefer to have a female advisor because they feel more comfortable asking certain questions. I suggest interviewing a few until you feel comfortable handing them your money.

Mental Health/counseling Divorce Team Members

Family counselor/co-parenting counselor

The divorce process is not only hard on the parties but it is also hard on their children. It is difficult for the family to adjust to this new normal. Counselors can assist with this. Family counselors provide the parents and the children tools to cope with the end of the marriage and teach them how to move forward as a unit even though the parents are no longer together. These counselors will generally hold sessions for the parties and the children as they deem appropriate.

Co-parenting counselors specialize in teaching the parents how to communicate with each other post-divorce for their children. These counselors generally meet with the parents only. When selecting an appropriate counselor, look for one that specializes in these types of counseling methods. Also, don’t forget to check if your insurance offers coverage.

Personal therapist/psychiatrist/psychologist

The end of a relationship is stressful and emotional. Clients often need a mental health professional that they can talk to about their feelings and provide them tools to cope with the separation. Remember, it is generally more cost effective to vent to a therapist than your attorney.

Finding the right mental health professional is very important. If you don’t feel comfortable then find someone new. It is often helpful to ask you regular physician for a recommendation. You can also search through your insurance company’s provider directory. Those directories allow you to filter for certain areas of concern so you can more easily find someone who fits your need.

Child therapist

Often, children also need to seek treatment from to address their feelings about their parent’s divorce. This is different than family counseling. In family counseling, the child attends sessions with one or both of their parents. In child therapy, the child attends the sessions with the counselor alone and will often engage in play therapy (drawing pictures or doing other activities to express their feelings) or more traditional methods.

As above, check with your child’s regular physician or insurance company for recommendations. In most cases, the therapist will need the consent of both parents to treat the child. If your spouse does not agree, it is best to address this issue with your attorney so that he/she can determine the best course of action to obtain the other parent’s agreement.

Custody evaluator/mental health evaluator

Sometimes parties are unable to agree on who will have custody of the children after separation. The majority of custody cases involve two loving and competent parents. However, there are those matters that involve serious allegations of abuse, drug/alcohol use, and mental health issues. In those cases, it is often necessary to have evaluations performed to determine what type of custodial arrangement is best for the children.

In a custody evaluation, the parties, child (if age appropriate), and third parties are interviewed and tested. The evaluator then gives a report of their findings. A mental health evaluation is slightly different. In those evaluations, generally only one party is being evaluated. Moreover, these evaluations are not to determine who should have custody of the child, but to address whether the subject party has any mental health issues that should be considered in determining custodial arrangements.

Selecting the right evaluator can be critical to your case. They must be qualified as an expert in their field or the judge may not allow them to testify. Also, you need to consider the time that it takes for the evaluator to complete his/her report. While you don’t want to automatically select the evaluator that can finish their report in the shortest time, you do need to think about how long it will take as your case will not be resolved until their report has been issued. I had a case where the evaluator (not our choice) took almost a year to complete their mental health evaluation of my client. It was ridiculous and it needlessly delayed her having unsupervised custodial time with her child. We never used that evaluator again.

Other Professional Divorce Team Members

Life coach/Divorce coach

This is a relatively new divorce team member category, at least for me. These types of coaches act the same as sports coaches. They help the client plan out goals and develop a strategy to obtain those goals. The coach then works with the client to see if the client is following that strategy and, if not, help them get back on track.

If you are interested in hiring a coach, think about whether you need someone to help with general life goal setting or if you need help with your divorce-related goals. Not all life coaches specialize in divorce.

Attorneys practicing in other specialities

One of my favorite things about family law is how this practice intersects with many other areas of law. Although I consider myself a family law expert, I am not an expert in other legal fields. Therefore, I often need to refer my clients to other lawyers to provide advice. For example, I had a case involving the valuation of a patent. The only patent that I am an expert in is patent leather pumps from Nordstrom. So, we retained the services of a patent attorney to help us understand and value the asset.

While that was a unique case, I regularly engage tax lawyers for IRS issues, estate lawyers to redo wills, real estate attorneys for title work, and corporate lawyers to rewrite business partnership agreements. I am lucky that I have some of these experts right in my firm. However, sometimes I have to look outside my office to find the right fit for my client. It is important that your divorce attorney can identify the need for these other legal experts and has a good network to find them.

So, who should be on your divorce team?

Most cases will not need all of the experts discussed above. However, it is important that you go through this list with your attorney to identify if any of them need to be drafted to your divorce team. Looking for ways to save money so you can hire these divorce team members? Read my six well-tested tips for keeping your divorce legal fees low.