Ep2: Silver Divorce — Divorce Planner Brooke Benson shines a light on “Mortgages and Divorce” on Season 1: Episode 2 of Peter Neuwirth’s new show, Silver Divorce: How to Simplify a Painful Process

November 2023: A Note from Actuary and Author Peter Neuwirth, FSA, FCA — I invite you to tune in for this month’s episode of my podcast and video show, Silver Divorce, where for 30 minutes, we unpack ways you can simplify the painful process of getting divorced in your senior years.

Meet our guest: Divorce Planner and Mortgage Banker Brooke Benson, MA, CDLP

This month’s topic: Identifying and engaging the variety of financial experts you will need to work with in a Silver Divorce

Pete asks Brooke:

• I had the privilege of being interviewed on your show on VoiceAmerica and am interested to learn that you are a champion of planning for divorce. Tell our audience how you developed your practice and why “divorce planning” is necessary.
• Do you think couples should think about divorce even if they think it will never happen to them?
• What is the first step a couple should take to get a Silver Divorce?
• You have expressed that when a couple gets divorced, they will need various experts to help them. Which are the most essential experts to find, and how can clients best use their time and money to manage their divorce support team? And, perhaps most importantly, at what point do you think lawyers need to be involved?
• As a Certified Divorce Lending Professional, what is your role in planning for a Silver Divorce?
• Just as all marriages differ, I expect all divorces to be, too. But what do you see as the most common themes in divorces occurring at different life stages? For example, I am guessing that divorces among long-tenure marriages where there are no minor children, but one or both spouses are retired or close to it, are different than those where child custody is an issue and/or one or both parents are in the middle of a career.  Talk about how your approach might differ between couples at different stages of life.
• Should the divorce planning process differ significantly from couple to couple, or do you think there is some general advice you would give to any couple willing to consider the possibility that their marriage may not last forever?
• As an actuary, I know that divorce is a financial risk. One needs to be aware of when planning for retirement. We consider it a “spike expense,” an unexpected and significant expense that can seriously disrupt even the most well-thought-out retirement income strategy. Do you have any final comments on what couples can do in advance to minimize the financial damage a divorce can cause?

Click here to listen to Brooke’s interview with Pete!

About our guest: We’ve all seen wedding planning guides: the flowers! The cakes! The gowns! It’s easy to get swept away in the romance and glamour. By contrast, no one PLANS to get divorced… it’s bad manners even to suggest it! But 50-60% of marriages end here in the United States. Brooke Benson is a Certified Divorce Lending Specialist (CDLPTM) and founder of Plan for Divorce: Your Next Chapter. Drawing from her own experiences with divorce and stories from her lending clients, Brooke wrote a workbook to help anyone prepare for a personal breakup. Legally married or not. Part of a same- or opposite-sex couple. Anyone can use this no-nonsense, practical information to pave the way to the best outcome possible. In January 2023, she was offered the chance to host a radio show/podcast on VoiceAmerica’s Empowerment channel. Brooke interviews experts in many different fields to go deeper into the issues accompanying a divorce. She has divided the material into five basic areas: self-care, arrangements related to children, finances, additional concerns (these range from having an adult child with disabilities to domestic violence to possible deportation of an ex), and finally: how to get it done. Brooke teaches Continuing Legal Education (CLE) to family lawyers and speaks often to Realtors, wealth advisors, CPAs, and other business professionals about divorce. Learn more planfordivorce.org and brookebensonlender.com.

Click here to learn more about actuary and author Peter Neuwirth: www.PeterNeuwirth.com

Watch this episode on www.PeterNeuwirth.tv