I’m a Financial Expert: 3 Money Mistakes You Simply Cannot Make During a Divorce
Written by
Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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Wall Street legend — and co-founder and CEO of investment platform Ellevest — Sallie Krawcheck recently wrote a blog post addressing the mistakes she made amid her divorce. She said felt very much on her own when it came to money questions surrounding divorce.
“Because he had controlled the money (I know, very unlike me) — and since trust had been broken — this was a major, major source of stress. On top of that, I had just accepted a job that I really didn’t want, because that’s what had made sense for us as a couple,” Krawcheck wrote in an Ellevest post.
In a LinkedIn post earlier this month, Krawcheck wrote: “Divorce is already complicated — but when there’s wealth involved, it can get even trickier.”
In turn, she said there are a few mistakes to avoid:
Not Negotiating Hard Enough
Krawcheck warned against making the mistake of not negotiating hard enough, CNBC reported.
“Look at a woman who’s advocating for herself, and all of the internalized messages of a patriarchal society come through,” Krawcheck said, according to CNBC. “She doesn’t want to be too aggressive and she doesn’t want to make them angry.”
Not Having All Pertinent Financial Information on Hand
“The more you understand your current financial situation, the better,” writer Allison Kvikstad indicated in a separate Ellevest blog post. “Nearly half of divorcing or divorced women reported being ‘met with surprises’ during or after the process.”
You can avoid many of those curveballs by gathering and reviewing your financial documents, including a complete list of your assets, bank statements and a list of debts — as well as past tax records — according to Kvikstad.
Putting Off Financial Planning
You should ensure your own long-term financial wellbeing, as CNBC noted, adding that Krawcheck said she made the mistake of letting her first husband handle their finances solo.
“Money is money, but money in a relationship is power,” she said, according to CNBC. Not only because working together to make financial decisions can make your relationship stronger, but also because of the fact that financial abuse is almost ubiquitous with domestic abuse.
In turn, she recommended keeping an individual emergency in case of a divorce, or the sudden death of a spouse.
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