ONE LAST LOOK™
ONE LAST LOOK™ is unique to Oak Tree Mediation. Developed from our years of experience working with couples facing divorce, it’s a process that allows you to look at divorce before starting down that road. It’s a way to learn about options and potential financial outcomes before starting the divorce process.
ONE LAST LOOK™ is not a legal process or legal advice. It is an education program tailored to your individual questions and situation. An attorney is required if you seek legal advice.
People that are considering divorce have many questions, including:
- Can or should we work this out?
- Should we try again?
- How will I live?
- What about retirement?
- How much is support going to be and how long will it last?
ONE LAST LOOK™ explores your unique relationship and how divorce may affect it. It gives you information with which you can evaluate these questions, and much more.
IN ONE LAST LOOK™ YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT:
1. ASSETS AND LIABILITIES: What do you own and what do you owe. How are these valued and divided, and what that may mean to each of you.
2. SUPPORT PAYMENTS: What might be expected in spousal and child support. Options to consider for the structure of those payments. Tax issues in divorce. Options for changes in payments over time.
3. RETIREMENT PLANS: How to divide a pension. How one spouse can take a pension distribution without paying the 10% early withdrawal penalty. Dividing public and government plans. The difference between IRAs and pensions and how that impacts you. Dividing stock options and bonus payments.
4. WHEN A BUSINESS IS INVOLVED: How a business can be divided. Structuring buy-out arrangements. The reality of “double-dipping” into a business.
5. THE PROCESS OF DIVORCE: Structure of financial affidavits. Rules about disclosure. Concerns about hidden assets.
IN ONE LAST LOOK™, WHAT’S MY ROLE?
If you enroll for a detailed & personal review, your job is to complete a questionnaire. It’s very detailed and requires an accurate, honest assessment of your finances.
Its purpose is to expose you to your financial world in a way that may not be comfortable. However, it is essential. We ask for very specific details because you need to see as complete a picture as possible.
This questionnaire allows both parties to see if they have a grasp on what’s happening in your financial world. Often, one spouse handles the finances in a marriage. This procedure is an important wakeup call to anyone considering a divorce.
IN ONE LAST LOOK™, WHAT’S OAK TREE’S ROLE?
We take the information you provide us and put it into a financial profile. This allows us to show you the options and tax consequences of asset division. It can also show what might be expected for support payments.
As a neutral third party, we provide a picture from which you may begin to evaluate your options. This information is shared with both clients. There is no hiding of assets or information.
This is a reality check and a financial analysis. ONE LAST LOOK™ reveals what your world may look like if you choose to move forward with divorce. ONE LAST LOOK™ is not legal advice and it is not marriage counseling.
What might be expected as an outcome from ONE LAST LOOK™?
Clarity about what it is you may want from the process of divorce.
Confidence in the direction you are choosing.
Insight into some potential consequences to divorce.
A more informed position from which to make critical choices that will impact the rest of your life and the lives of children, family, and friends.
Initial information gathering and organization if you should choose divorce as your option going forward.
Return to our Family Support page.