Today it seems like everything has its own jargon, and the world of divorce is no different.
You may learn a lot of new words and phrases, and you may be asked lots of questions. You will want someone on your team who can help you understand the jargon of divorce.
For example:
• Divorce versus Dissolution
• What is marital property versus separate property?
• What is the difference between a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) and an IRA rollover?
• Financial Affidavit – What is it and how do I fill it out?
• If you or your spouse is receiving stock options from your employer – are they incentive stock options (called ISO’s) or are they non–qualified stock options (called NSO or NQSO)?
• Are the retirement accounts vested? What does vesting mean? How does it work?
• Investments can be non-qualified, qualified or even non-qualified but tax deferred – what’s the difference? Which investments are better to take in a settlement?
• Do you or your spouse own a business? Do you have capital loss carryforward? You may be asking – What is a capital loss carryforward?
• There could even be reference to the Internal Revenue Code section 72(t).
• Let’s not forget about pension plans – which can sometimes be worth more than your house! Pensions may have a spousal benefit, or a split benefit. They are very different, it’s important to know the difference and what it could mean for you.
All this new language and these new decisions can be overwhelming. The key is that you don’t need to BE an expert, you need to HIRE someone with experience, and that person should be someone who can make all this complicated jargon easier to understand.
Anyone can take something that’s simple and make it complicated. What you need is someone who can take something that’s complicated and make it easy to understand.
At Alternative Divorce Solutions, that’s what we aspire to do – we work with you to make things easier to understand and get you familiar with the jargon of divorce. Our role is to help make sure you and your attorney fully understand how the financial decisions you make today will impact your financial future.
