This week on the Grow Money Business podcast we have a very distinguished guest: Melissa Ellis. Melissa is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, a CERTIFIED DIVORCE FINANCIAL ANALYST™, and the founder of Sapphire Wealth Planning. Through her firm, Melissa helps couples going through divorce achieve as equitable results as they possibly can. In today’s episode, we dive into what couples can do before getting married to avoid financial problems and what couples who are considering getting divorced can do to make the situation better. Stay tuned until the end of the episode, where we talk about a few important discussion points that can help couples with financial issues.
Show Notes
[01:48] Melissa’s Background – Melissa talks about her firm and how she helps couples who are going through the divorce process achieve better outcomes.
[04:46] The Process of Divorce – How financial matters come into play when a couple decides to get divorced and what they have to go through to complete the process.
[08:34] Planning for the Future – The financial aspect of divorce includes a lot more than just splitting assets. Melissa reviews numerous points to consider so that both spouses will be financially safe, even several years or decades after the divorce.
[14:21] The Role of a CDFA – Melissa talks about several ways a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst can help a couple under different circumstances.
[21:46] Financial Planning for Divorce – Melissa reviews the process of planning and splitting financial assets and a few things to consider in terms of taxation.
[26:24] Divorce and Businesses – What happens when there’s a business owned by one of the spouses in a divorce.
[30:08] Marital Property – The process of tracing and separating marital property and non-marital property.
[36:36] Financial Planning Before Marriage – Why you should start planning your financial matters before you tie the knot and how it contributes to a happier marriage.
[41:42] Conversations About Money – How the different family and cultural backgrounds of the two spouses can affect the financial strength of a couple and how to take the first step toward talking about financial matters as a couple.
[47:35] Helping Youngsters With Their Financial Planning – Melissa mentioned her daughter was going to get married very soon. Melissa shares the way she helps her daughter with financial planning.
[50:00] Preventing Divorce – Mellissa talks about a case where the couple ended up not getting divorced after properly handling their financial issues and what contributed to that positive outcome.
[58:45] Making Divorce Less Painful – The value of discussing financial matters with an objective third party and how that can help you make the divorce process less uncomfortable.
Resources
Melissa’s Website: sapphirewealthplanning.com