Left in the Lurch
Suddenly and unhappily, women can be thrust into the role of household financial manager after a lifetime of ignorance.
Ivy Menchel is quoted in JW Magazine.
It was hard not to be jealous: My friend, whom I’ll call Rachel, seemed to glide effortlessly through life. She radiated beauty, kindness, intelligence. While a student at a top college on the East Coast, she found love, and soon after graduation she married, later moving with her husband into a spacious home. A mutual friend informed me that her husband had founded and managed a lucrative business.
But as happens in as many as 50 percent of American marriages, the matrimonial bonds eventually began to fray. And Rachel, a mother of three in her early 40s, a part-time social worker living in one of the most expensive regions of the United States, found herself in tremendous debt with little understanding of how she’d arrived there.
“I paid the babysitter. He was paying for almost everything else,” she says. “Financial issues were part of the divorce.”
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Money, Emotion and the Monetary Blueprint
Money means different things to different people, and family law professionals don’t always take adequate note of that, says the author, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. This is where the challenge lies, she says.
Moola, dough, loot, shekels ‘ however you refer to it, whatever you call it, money is extremely emotional. The mere mention of the word elicits a reaction deep in the gut for most people. Yet money means different things to different people, and we don’t always take adequate note of that. This is where the challenge lies: To some, money is equivalent to security; to others it can mean power; someone else may define it as freedom; to still others, money is a burden.
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Consulting with a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst
Interview With Ivy Menchel of Family Wealth Planning Partners
Ivy Menchel, CFP®, CDFA™ helps women and men deal with one of the most contentious issues of divorce – money and assets.
Ivy is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™ (CDFA). If you weren’t aware of this specialized field of financial planning, you’re not alone. A CDFA works with divorcing clients, attorneys, mediators and divorce coaches to help address the financial issues as you transition through this difficult time.
Ivy’s practice, Family Wealth Planning Partners represents one spouse or works as a financial neutral to help both parties come to an agreement.
The New York CDFA earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Stony Brook University. Ivy has mediation training and although she doesn’t act as a mediator, her skills help couples resolve their issues and move on to new and hopefully fulfilling and prosperous lives.
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Reality Check on Retirement
The Chicago Tribune interviews Ivy Menchel in this article:
The letter from a 50-year-old, newly divorced reader was brief, but full of pain, errors and red flags.
“I was married to my ex-husband for 23 years,” it began. “My attorney said I will receive half of his Social Security benefits because I was the first wife and married to him for over 10 years. I will not remarry, EVER, so I know that rule will never affect me. My question is: Do I need to apply for his benefits when I reach a certain age? I am 50 years old and want to have all my ducks in a row when I retire at age 62.”
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Ivy Menchel on Accounting Today
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