You have something in front of you that you're about to sign.
And something doesn't feel right.
Trust that feeling. Before you agree to the numbers that will shape the rest of your financial life, let someone who reads these every day tell you what they actually say.
Secure Your Settlement Review Have questions first?$600
3-5 business days
Written review + call
The proposal itself
Before signing
What this is
I read your settlement proposal line by line. Not as a lawyer reviewing language. As a financial planner and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst who knows what these numbers actually mean in real life, five years from now, ten years from now, when you're trying to retire.
Here's what most people don't realize: every asset has two values. There's the number on the page, and then there's what it's actually worth after taxes, penalties, liquidity constraints, and time. Most proposals only show you the first number. The second number is where people lose six figures without ever knowing it happened.
I find the gap between those two numbers. Then I write it down in plain language and walk you through it on a 45-minute call so you understand exactly what you're agreeing to.
Eight places I always check
I look at these because, after 20 years of doing this work, I've seen them cost people hundreds of thousands of dollars.
01
Tax basis assumptions
A $400,000 retirement account is not $400,000. After taxes and early withdrawal penalties, it could be $280,000. The proposal probably doesn't mention that. I will.
02
Hidden liquidity mismatches
You get the house. He gets the brokerage account. Same value on paper. But he can sell shares on Monday. You have a 30-year illiquid asset with a roof that needs replacing. That's not equal.
03
Maintenance cliff exposure
Alimony (also called spousal maintenance) runs for five years. What happens in year six? If nobody has modeled what that transition looks like, you're signing a countdown you can't see.
04
Overlooked assets
Stock options, deferred compensation, cash-value life insurance, employee benefits. These don't always appear on a balance sheet, but they carry real value. I make sure nothing is missing.
05
Valuation softness
"The business is worth $1.2 million." According to whom? Using which method? Valuation assumptions can swing a number by hundreds of thousands of dollars. I look at who made the estimate and how.
06
Retirement plan splitting errors
Splitting a retirement plan requires a special court order called a QDRO. If the language isn't right, it can trigger tax events nobody expected. The wording matters as much as the number.
07
The narrative gap
Numbers without context tell a story that favors whoever framed them. I reframe the numbers around your actual life, not a spreadsheet. That changes the conversation.
08
Your real life
Will you be able to retire on time? Will you need to go back to work? Can you actually afford the house you're keeping? These are the questions a settlement should answer. Most don't.
Rachel and Ed agreed to "deal with the house later." That delay changed the tax rules. Married filing jointly gives you a $500,000 capital gains exclusion on the sale of a home. After the divorce is final, it drops to $250,000 per person. The timing of when you sell matters more than the equity number on the page.
Tax timing on real estate, real clients (names changed)
Here's how it works
01
You send me the document
The proposed settlement, the mediation agreement, whatever is sitting on the table. Upload it or email it to me. I'll take it from there.
02
I read every line
Over 3-5 business days, I go through every piece of it. I calculate the after-tax values, check liquidity, model the assumptions, and identify what's missing. No shortcuts. No templates. Your situation gets my full attention.
03
Written review + a call
You receive a written analysis in plain language. Then we sit down for a 45-minute call where I walk you through everything I found. You'll know exactly what the proposal means, what to question, and what to take back to your attorney.
Patricia came to me three days before she was going to sign.
Her husband was selling his company. His team had classified 1.5 million shares of founder stock as a gift from his father, which would make it separate property, not subject to division. There was one clean document showing the gift transfer. It looked straightforward.
But nobody had examined what happened to the value of those shares during the marriage. Share appreciation during a marriage is not automatically separate property. It's the kind of thing that's easy to miss if you're not looking for it.
I drafted a letter laying out the questions. The entire case stopped. Patricia's settlement didn't just improve. It tripled. All from a $600 review, three days before she almost signed.
Before you sign, let someone read it
who does this every day.
$600. A written review delivered in 3-5 business days, followed by a 45-minute call to walk through every finding together. If I catch even one issue, this pays for itself many times over.
Secure Your Settlement Review · $600Or tell me about your situation first
Virtual sessions available for clients in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. In-person in Spokane.