Jay Mota

Financial Planning For The Blended Family

Anxiety around money puts a strain on any relationship. But for blended families, there’s an added layer of complexity. Who will pay for what? And where is the money coming from? The good news is, remarried couples can alleviate a lot of that stress with a little planning.

Jay Mota is a Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Consultant with Prudential Financial. Born and raised in the Bronx, Jay served in both the US Marine Corps and Army National Guard before transitioning to financial services. Jay studied at NYU, Fordham University and The American College of Financial Services, earning degrees in Business Management, Marketing and Communication. With 20 years of experience in financial planning, Jay is a sought-after international speaker on financial wellness and other industry-related topics. 

On this episode of Divorce Dialogues, Jay joins Katherine to discuss the finer points of financial planning for the blended family, explaining how disputes around alimony and child support take both a financial and emotional toll on all involved. He addresses the financial expectations of stepparents, challenging remarried couples to have an honest conversation about their current circumstances as well as their goals for the future. Listen in for Jay’s insight on estate planning in a blended family and learn how to make sure your children from a previous marriage are taken care of after you’re gone.

Topics Covered 

Why Jay recommends that blended families track their income and expenses 

How disputes around alimony and child support take an emotional and financial toll on a blended family

How Jay helps blended families identify the financial facts today, understand each other’s goals and plan for the future

The financial expectations of a stepparent around paying for college

Communicating your decisions re: estate equalization and your stepchildren with your new spouse

The estate planning concerns associated with blended families (and what you can do to make sure your children from a previous marriage don’t get left out)

The value in envisioning how you want your estate to be handled and creating a plan right now

Jay’s fiduciary responsibility to introduce difficult conversations

Jay’s insight on the challenge of retirement planning in a blended family 

Connect with Jay Mota

Email jay.mota@prudential.com 

Call (929) 207-3838

Jay on Facebook

Jay on LinkedIn

Connect with Katherine Miller

The Center for Understanding Conflict

Miller Law Group

Katherine on LinkedIn

The New Yorker’s Guide to Collaborative Divorce by Katherine Miller

Email katherine@miller-law.com

Call (914) 738-7765

Resources

FAFSA

The post Financial Planning For The Blended Family With Jay Mota appeared first on Divorce Dialogues.

Aaron Thomas

How Substance Abuse Impacts Divorce

Substance abuse adds another layer of complexity to the divorce process. So, what do you need to consider if you’re divorcing an addict? And what if you’re struggling with alcoholism or drug abuse yourself?

Attorney Aaron Thomas is the Founder of Aaron Thomas Law, a family law practice based in Atlanta, Georgia. Aaron began his legal career in 2002 as an in-house staff attorney for Habitat for Humanity International. He also served as a trial attorney in the Dekalb County Public Defender’s office for four years before starting his own practice and shifting his focus exclusively to family law in 2007.

On this episode of Divorce Dialogues, Aaron joins Katherine to discuss how substance abuse impacts the divorce process. He explains how drug addiction and alcoholism affect a judge’s decision-making around child custody, child support, division of assets and spousal support. Listen in to understand how Aaron handles a case differently when he represents the addicted party and learn what you should think about as the spouse of an addict considering divorce.

Topics Covered

Why substance abuse is rarely used as grounds for divorce even if that’s the issue

How alcoholism and drug addiction impact child custody

When (and why) a judge might award the addicted spouse a lesser share of the marital assets

How Aaron handles a case differently when he represents the addicted party

The trend toward seeing addiction as an illness vs. criminal activity

Why it’s exceptionally challenging to represent the spouse of an addict

The consequences of making your spouse’s addiction public in the divorce process

Why a judge might base child support on the amount the addicted party SHOULD be making

What a judge considers before awarding alimony to the addicted party

Aaron’s advice to the spouse of an addict considering divorce

Connect with Aaron Thomas

Aaron Thomas Law

Connect with Katherine Miller

The Center for Understanding Conflict

Miller Law Group

Katherine on LinkedIn

The New Yorker’s Guide to Collaborative Divorce by Katherine Miller

Email katherine@miller-law.com

Call (914) 738-7765

The post How Substance Abuse Impacts Divorce with Aaron Thomas appeared first on Divorce Dialogues.

Linda Schoonover Carley

Empowering Divorcing Couples to Communicate Through Mediation

The heightened emotions that come with divorce often lead to impulsive action. The brain shuts down and couples jump into litigation without considering the consequences—or the alternatives. But the court system takes their power away and hands all of the decisions over to a judge, and at the end of the day, everybody loses. How can we reestablish communication between these couples, empowering them to make decisions on their own?

Linda Schoonover Carley is a former family, dependency and juvenile judge with more than thirty years of experience as a judge, attorney and mediator. She is also the author of Divorce Made Simple, a no-nonsense guide that demonstrates her practical, holistic approach to avoiding the chaos of the court system. An Amazon Best Selling author and award-winning speaker, Linda uses storytelling to illustrate her passion for children and justice.

Today, Linda joins Katherine to discuss how couples make impulsive decisions around divorce without a clear understanding of the consequences. She explains the danger in shutting down communication and offers her approach to teaching couples to communicate again. Linda speaks to the mediation process, describing how it empowers people to make decisions themselves and how to prepare for the mediation process. Listen in to understand why litigation makes couples lose sight of what’s important and learn to leverage alternatives like mediation and collaborative divorce.

Topics Covered

How couples make impulsive decisions around divorce based on emotion

The natural instinct to shut down communication in the divorce process

How shutting down communication escalates turmoil for the children

Linda’s approach to teaching couples to communicate again

Why couples lose sight of what’s important during the litigation process

How mediation starts with the practice of finding agreement

How the parents’ relationship impacts a child’s idea of conflict resolution

How mediation empowers people to make decisions themselves

How to prepare for the mediation process

• Issues had during marriage will show up in mediation
• Make list of issues, rank in order of importance
• Come in with an understanding of financial needs

How children can serve as an anchor for the mediation process

The fundamentals of time sharing or shared parental responsibility

The difference between child support and alimony

Connect with Linda Schoonover Carley

Linda’s Website

Divorce Made Simple

Divorce Made Simple on Facebook

Resources

Divorce Made Simple: The Ultimate Guide by a Former Family Judge by Linda D. Schoonover

Connect with Katherine Miller

The Center for Understanding Conflict

Miller Law Group

Katherine on LinkedIn

The New Yorker’s Guide to Collaborative Divorce by Katherine Miller

Email katherine@miller-law.com

Call (914) 738-7765

The post Empowering Divorcing Couples to Communicate Through Mediation with Linda Schoonover Carley appeared first on Divorce Dialogues.