Guest Post Introduction: Jessie L. Foster, CFP®, CDFA™, MBA is a Collaborative Law Financial Professional who works with clients and their attorneys to fully understand the financial complexities surrounding divorce. She offers comprehensive analysis of the short-term and long-term impacts of proposed divorce settlements that may impact clients and their families well beyond divorce. Ms. Foster serves as Chair of the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council (MCLC) , Members Meeting Committee and is a member of The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, the Divorce Center and The Massachusetts Council of Family Mediation. What does a Collaborative Law Financial Neutral Do? By Jessie L. Foster, CFP®, CDFA™, MBA Financial issues in divorce are complex and the decisions a couple makes as part of the divorce process may be some of the most important fiscal decisions they will make in their lifetime. On the Collaborative Divorce Team the financial professional is ...

To Rent or Buy? That is the question. Trulia.com shows us, with some neat graphics , that the answer depends on where you live. If you're in Phoenix of Jacksonville: Buy, Buy, Buy. But not so fast in New York City or Boston. No matter where you live, one of the most expensive parts of a divorce is changing your lifestyle from supporting one household on your current incomes to supporting two households. Whether or not the current home is sold or one person stays there, in the end both parties are faced with the question: is it better to buy or rent? Traditional thinking is that it is better to buy. It is the American Dream to own your own home, and the government assists you by offering a mortgage interest deduction on your income taxes. But as Trulia.com's graphics demonstrate, that may not be enough in todays market. Let's use Natick, Massachusetts to test an example: The average rent for a 2BR home or apartment in Natick in 2010 was $1400. The cost of l...

The most common reason for divorcing spouses to continue living in the same house is because neither wants to leave their children behind. When a parent leaves the home and moves to another location without an agreement for parenting plan in place, they are essentially ceding physical custody to the other parent. Physical custody is simply defined as who the children reside with and unless there is a plan in place, if only one parent lives in the children's home, then that parent necessarily has physical custody (it is possible for a parent to move out with the children, but this is unusual except in cases of abuse). While many parents will fight over who can remain in the home during this time period, this argument is a distraction from the reality that eventually divorcing spouses will live separate and apart. It makes more sense for the spouse who will eventually move to begin investigating their other options as soon as possible, and for parents to work out a realistic pa...