Divorce

Studies show that Americans work more hours overall (with a work week that often exceeds 40 hours) and take less vacation time than our counterparts in many other developed nations (for example, a statutory five weeks' paid vacation in France). Increasingly, we work right through our vacations.

After FedEx Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. went through a noisy divorce in 2019, it was a bit jarring to hear Brie Carere, FedEx’s chief customer officer, welcome back volume from the e-commerce giant with such open arms.

I encourage you not just to make your prospects feel understood, but to lean into what makes you unique. Ultimately, this blended approach will attract the clients who are right for you.

As financial planning becomes more digital, more automated, and more standardized, this human layer becomes even more critical. The ability to connect, to coach, and to support emotionally charged decisions will remain one of the most valuable skills an advisor can offer.

What is one of your “hard truths” about money? An assumption like “money is power” that you have never questioned? “Truths” like these are financial beliefs, or money scripts, that often sound completely reasonable on the surface. But in my work as a financial therapist, I’ve learned that these money scripts aren’t facts.

One thing just about everyone will tell you about divorce is that it’s expensive. There are several reasons for that, chiefly the lack of education and awareness and the habitual use of lawyers rather than mediators.

In this article, I focus on five essential age-based milestones and life events that collectively present more than 40 million advice opportunities, enabling financial advisors to showcase their care and expertise beyond traditional investment strategies.

Without proper financial guidance and planning, the end of their career could be followed by serious financial difficulties. While every athlete’s legal, tax, and financial picture is different, here are some of the topics that should be reviewed with athletes.

In technology, disruption can happen slowly and then all at once. Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit is praying for the former right now.

The world’s two biggest economies are headed for a divorce that will likely play out for the rest of this year and beyond, after a month that saw a huge spurt in China’s exports and its overall trade surplus hit near $103 billion.

Even in the best-case scenarios, implicit trust tends to erode when a marriage unravels. On occasion, the divorce process uncovers secrets, hidden rifts, and breaches of trust that can expose both parties to scrutiny and trouble.

Overall, it is a system deeply rooted in familial interdependence. The responsibility for widows rests squarely with family members, reflecting a culture where support networks are built on kinship rather than institutional safety nets.

As we enter Valentine’s Day weekend, financial infidelity isn’t exactly a topic that exudes romance. But lovebirds who don’t make the discussion a foundational piece of their relationship risk adding avoidable strain on their union.

Thanks to technology and the rise of passive investing, putting together a sophisticated, diversified portfolio has never been easier.

Financial loss is one of the most common secondary losses. The death of a family breadwinner can bring crushing financial uncertainty. Even when the deceased was not the primary earner, grief can derail financial stability.

News broke this week that the US Department of Justice wants to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell Chrome, its dominant web browser. That has led to much head scratching in the tech industry.

The age of a typical homebuyer jumped to an all-time high of 56 in the US, with many young people locked out of the housing market while older owners tap their accumulated home equity for cash purchases or to make large down payments, according to a report.

Business divorces are often painful, expensive, and damaging – not just to the individuals involved, but to the advisory firm’s reputation and, most importantly, to its clients. However, with some foresight and planning, many of the common triggers for a business split can be avoided.

Jeff Bezos’ wealth slumped by more than $21 billion after Amazon.com Inc. said it planned to continue spending big on artificial intelligence even at the expense of short-term profits.

Canadian entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson’s early decision to ditch a career as a journalist and teach himself web design has proved lucrative, making him the majority owner of a technology investment firm worth more than $300 million.

Clearly, managing windfall wealth requires more than financial acumen. It calls for careful planning, emotional resilience, and trusted advice. Engaging an experienced financial advisor is crucial for setting realistic lifestyle and legacy goals, understanding investment strategies, and managing risks.

The mortgage lock-in effect ended in the Levin household shortly before my in-laws arrived from Mexico to celebrate my daughter’s birthday at our home in the Miami area. As usual, my wife and I had no place to put them, and they had to get a room at a Courtyard Marriott.

In this article, I will explore the key considerations for investment advisors when selling a minority interest in their firms to maximize the likelihood of success. I discuss how to choose the right investor, provide a blueprint for the process.

For married couples, typically those who have a high net worth, a Spousal Limited Access Trust (SLAT) could be an efficient wealth-preserving strategy. These irrevocable trusts allow one spouse to transfer assets such as cash, marketable securities, real estate, and life insurance, to a trust that benefits the other spouse.

Given that many people consider gold prices to be a macro barometer, reflecting trends in the economy, inflation, currency, and geopolitics, let’s identify the driving force behind the recent surge in the price of gold.

When a spouse dies, many women face severe financial hardship despite being part of a married couple for decades. This "widowhood penalty" results from men failing to ensure their wives are financially secure if tragedy strikes.

Here are some reasons couples should sign a formal prenuptial agreement.

It is essential to have open and honest pre-wedding conversations about both partners’ personal finances and attitudes about money.

After years of managing household budgets through the stress of the worst inflation in a generation, US families are increasingly pressured by a different kind of financial squeeze: The cost of carrying debt.

If you need to sell your home in the next few months, I’d get on with it. As we enter the spring selling season, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the period during which sellers had the leverage in the housing market is over.

When it comes to differentiating your message, here are some tips we offer our clients.

Let’s look at some of the important financial professional designations. I’m informally putting them into three categories based on the level of training and time commitment they require.

This article identifies 10 real-world considerations in tax efficient distribution planning from the perspectives of an academic (Wade Pfau, PhD), a practitioner (Joe Elsasser, CFP), and a CPA (Steven Jarvis).

Can the Magnificent Seven retain its crown? Or will some subset of the 493 other S&P 500 stocks and their neglected sectors take the throne in 2024?

Homebuyers have suffered some severe whiplash in recent months. After all, when mortgage rates hit 8% in late October, it was reasonable to think the housing market would stay on ice throughout the winter.

What is a financial therapist, and how do you know when you need one?

Being left solely responsible for wealth through divorce or widowhood later in life comes with its own set of responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges. As with so many financial life events, it is often the emotional challenges that are the hardest.

Recently, a newly divorced woman in her 50s asked me if I knew of any good books for middle-aged, single woman of wealth.

This article explores how promoting individual strengths and skills, advocating for enhanced diversity and inclusion, fostering a collegial environment, encouraging diversification, and attracting a broader range of clients helps RIAs stand out in a competitive industry.

You hear a lot these days how unaffordable housing has become in the US. One way to think about affordability is to look at home prices relative to household incomes.

Whether you're just starting out or already have a content marketing strategy in place, this guide will provide actionable steps to help you launch your content strategy or enhance your existing practices.

Here are four steps financial advisors can take to improve financial literacy for women.

Evidence on actual spending behavior suggests that real spending falls with age. If that’s true, people need to save less for retirement than we think.

Artificial intelligence tools have demonstrated the capability to shake up nearly any industry. That includes financial advising.

We live in an age of goody-goody business. Companies wear their compassion on their sleeves in the form of ever more elaborate rainbow flags and inclusivity statements.

Any financial advisor can turn their content into a powerful SEO engine without engaging an expensive consultant.

China can match the US in artificial intelligence thanks to the expertise of companies from Alibaba to Baidu, joining a global tech transformation that will dwarf the mobile revolution, according to industry pioneer Kai-Fu Lee.

Yep, you read that right. I’m about to teach you how to get new clients for less than $10 a month.

Relative to the accumulation phase, strategies that mitigate the unique risks faced by retirees in decumulation are less understood and researched. By identifying and illustrating those risks, planners can better prepare clients for retirement.

Allan Roth’s recent article, The 4% Rule Just Became a Whole Lot Easier, promises too much, makes inaccurate comparisons and blurs the notion of risk.

Here are three signals people use to let you know when they are feeling pushed.

If you aren’t willing to niche, at least decide whether you are trying to help your clients thrive or survive. Then build a message around one of those themes. Are you selling them life rafts (survive) or sailboats (thrive)?

How will you leverage networking’s holiday season grand finale without being perceived as the friend who is desperate for business?

Here are some suggestions to consider when remarrying.

It took 16 months to pay off my husband’s student loans after we got married.

The search for information and direction about financial assistance and special-needs planning can be especially frustrating for caregivers.

When you choose a client niche, you may find that the focus is too narrow or too broad. Here’s how you can remedy the situation.

Millennials are self-centered and allergic to commitment. They switch jobs every six months and will never buy homes. And don’t get them started on marriage and kids.

We have a team of advisors who are the kings and queens of gossip.

In the current unstable economic environment, producing safe, reliable income over the course of an unknown retirement is a daunting goal for any financial professional. As a result, many Americans sub-optimize their retirement experience.

Demography isn’t destiny. If population size was history’s major determinant, China might have conquered Europe in the 15th century, and Britain certainly would not have conquered India in the 18th.