We recommend you be thoughtful about how you build this team; they need to understand your sensibilities and the outcomes you want, your goals. A proper advisor will pre-walk you through the process so you never feel like a ‘deer in the headlights.’

Your team needs to be cohesive and communication needs to be effective.

Consider a lawyer (update your wills), accountant, valuator (for business owners), expert in investments and financial planning, and a support for you and your children. At Davis Rea we can coordinate all these for you and help you get prepared for communicating with your lawyers.

Often overlooked, you might need to change the beneficiary on your insurance, insurance can play many different roles in your life and is particularly important in divorce. 

You will have your current budget, a different budget after your settlement, and a budget to plan for the end of support payments at retirement.

This budget informs how you will invest your money. Budgeting is just one part of a financial plan, we can help build the entire picture.

Libby Wildman spends a lot of time discussing self care with our clients and their children and offers many options and recommendations to support this major life transition.

Libby has the resources to help – see her retreat options at Liminal Escapes trips which offer a safe space to explore how to move forward with positivity and strength.

“Custody” is about major decisions while “access” is about time spent with your children. This is the trickiest part of a divorce, it is wise to get support from a social worker or through collaborative law. 

Protect your children’s inheritance if you remarry/cohabitate with a new partner. A life insurance policy is a great way to do this. Insurance is a very easy way to solve this problem. Contact Libby to discuss.

Don’t get emotionally attached to your assets, however be aware these items may be of sentimental value to your children. Sometimes the little things will be the things you/they miss most. 

Value all your assets: homes, businesses, cars, RRSPs, be prepared to settle half the value of these assets.

Often one of the hardest parts of a divorce is planning for the liquidity needed on settlement to cover 50% of the value of a business or a cottage. This requires help and discussion.

Consider the tax implications of rolling over RRSPs and all the nuances and long-term consequences of your options. It’s an opportunity for sophisticated planning that should not be missed. 

Make sure you have people on your team who understand all the nuances and taxation consequences of each bucket of assets. Your age and stage of life can significantly impact your decisions.

Stay? Sell? Consider that the family home grows tax-free as compared with RRSPs which are eventually taxable. It’s a major decision, will impact the schools your kids go to and if they can remain on their current the sports teams. Can you afford to stay? See step 3, create a budget.

Consider your future ability to save and earn. 

The more detail you put in here, the less you have to negotiate down the road. This is your life. Take your time and make sure you have thought of everything. Consider collaborative law which is often more constructive and provides an environment for creative thinking.

Don’t leave everything to the lawyers. Get involved and be proactive. Advocate for yourself now. 

You have an opportunity to hit the reset button. What do you want your life to look and feel like. Enjoy the process of re-creating your new life.

Get a coach, spend some time planning for the rest of your life. You’ve spent a lot of money ending this, spend some planning the next stage.