October 2017 – Avoid Financial Pitfalls in Divorce:  1. Negotiate a reasonable settlement. Before accepting an offer, get advice from a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) professional (like me) to make sure you’ll be able to live with the financial terms of the settlement – now and in the future.  2. Don’t live beyond your income. Reduce your expenses – or increase your income – so that you are always saving something for a rainy day.  3, Think twice about keeping the family home. Make sure you can truly afford it, and check how much cash you would have available to invest if you moved to a smaller home.  4. Realize that you won’t get everything you want in the property division. Don’t spend months and thousands of dollars fighting over furniture, appliances, or other personal items. Make a short list of “Must-Haves” and be prepared to compromise on everything else.   5. Protect your Retirement Assets. Make sure to have the pension valued by a qualified professional.  6. Use debt sparingly. Get a copy of your credit report and close all joint accounts and all credit that you do not use. Avoid maintaining balances on credit cards.