Divorcing couples engage CAs

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are doing it; so are Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid. But divorce isn't just big business in Hollywood - recent statistics say more than 30% of all adult Canadians will get divorced during their lifetime. CAs and other financial advisers are poised to help parting couples reach fair settlements and plan for the future.

"A lawyer might not be prepared to address the financial aspects of divorce," says Stephen Murray, a CA and Certified Financial Planner based in Calgary. "A financial planner can deal with that and offer extra credibility, whether one spouse is offering the other a pension payout or they're looking at how to divide their assets without extra tax costs."

Murray, who has handled divorce planning for the past four years, says it makes up only a small percentage of his practice, but adds that it can lead to long-term clients after the divorce is complete.

Some financial advisers, however, are building their entire practices on divorce planning. Linda Cartier, for example, a CFP and president of Financial Decisions Inc., in Sudbury, Ontario, gets referrals from lawyers and mediators and also does divorce planning for her own clients. She even obtained a CDP designation from the US-based Institute for Certified Divorce Planners.

Financial advisers - and accountants in particular are well positioned to include divorce planning in their practices, says Clayton Shultz, FCA, who worked almost exclusively in matrimonial litigation support during the late 1980s. "The marketplace desperately needs CAs when the valuation and splitting of assets are involved," says Shultz, who now deals with arbitrations and business valuations in Vancouver. He adds that CAs are a good choice because they're trained to be objective - more so than other professionals.

Objectivity, of course, is not the only quality needed for divorce planning. Good communication skills and the ability to handle tense situations are key. "You have to listen carefully to the client so you know what they're really looking for," says Murray. "Sometimes, spouses just want to get back at each other. You've got to pick up on that."

Unfortunately, these sorts of disputes can sometimes leave an adviser in a no-win situation. "If an existing client goes through a divorce and doesn't get exactly what he was expecting, at the end he may be very unhappy with you," says Shultz.

Tamar Satov