Married women need a stash of cash just in case divorce rears its ugly head, say financial advisors who specialize in divorce planning.

If a woman is faced with divorce, whether she initiates it or her husband does, she needs to assemble her own team that includes a financial advisor who is a divorce expert, a CPA and an attorney, says Kimberly Foss, founder and president of Empyrion Wealth Management in Roseville, Calif.

“I tell clients not to skimp on this team,” says Foss.

Others agree. Leslie Thompson, managing principal at Spectrum Management Group in Indianapolis, says, “Access to cash is the key to hiring a good attorney, and when a woman is starting a divorce procedure she should reach out to an attorney immediately.”

Because a woman probably will not want to work with her husband’s financial advisor, she may very well be the one finding a new advisor. That advisor will be starting from scratch with a new client, Foss says. For that reason, it is important to have complete records of all finances.

One of the first things the new advisor is going to need to know is “what you have and its value and what property is in your name,” says Martha Gribble, a lead advisor with Foster Group Inc. in West Des Moines, Iowa.

All of this requires detailed records. A prenup helps, says Foss, and should never be overlooked, but the wife also needs a detailed record of what assets were brought to the marriage and what was accumulated during the marriage.

“If the wife has a PHTC (putting hubby through college) degree, she may be able to get financial compensation for that if the advisor or attorney can get good records,” she says. “If the husband owns a business, the wife should keep all the records for taxes and valuations on hand because this is where money can be hidden.”

Gribble notes that it is easy to become financially entangled with another person, even if the two are just living together and not married. “You want to have your own credit and have at least one credit card in your name alone,” she says. “Make sure no one is opening credit cards without your knowledge. Each person in a relationship should keep her or his own identity.

“Some advisors disagree, but I am an advocate of each person having a checking account, as well as having a joint one. I think that is better for the relationship as well as for the finances,” she adds.

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