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Buyer’s Remorse

February 27th, 2010 | Comments Off

I was talking with some family law attorneys the other day. They were discussing mediations. The kind where everyone sits around in a room for nine hours to hash out a settlement. They mentioned buyer’s remorse.

In about 15% of their cases, the day after these mediations, their clients call and say they have changed their minds. They have second thoughts about those settlement agreements. After a good night’s sleep, those agreements don’t look as reasonable as they did the day before when they were tired and stressed.

Unfortunately, the mediation agreement they signed is irrevocable.

Had these clients chosen to use the collaborative divorce process, they would not have had to make these agreements after nine hours of grueling negotiations. In collaborative divorce cases, the clients get as long as they want to process, think about, get advice and mull over their possible settlement options. I have been on dozens of collaborative cases and have heard about many more cases. Never have I seen or heard of buyers remorse in a collaborative case. Certainly 15% sounds like a low rate of buyer’s remorse. But when it is your remorse, it is 100%,

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You Are Not Divorcing Your Friend’s Ex-Spouse

Equity in the House

Alimony Deductibility

Don’t Dilly Dally On Division

Tax Effecting Inventory Items

Traditional and Roth IRAs

Types of Retirement Plans

Dividing Stuff

House Selling Costs on the Inventory

Valuing the House

About Me

Tracy B. Stewart
College Station, Texas

I work with people in divorce. Most of my work is in collaborative divorces. Some of my work is in traditional, litigated divorces. I prefer the former because it is (in my opinion) a less expensive and more efficient process which gives the divorcing couple the opportunity to improve their communications, settle their disputes with dignity and preserve valuable family relationships. While the effect of divorce on children is not my specialty, I can say with confidence that collaborative divorce is far less damaging to children than is traditional, litigated divorce.

I have the usual trail of financial credentials:
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Certified Financial Planner&trade (CFP®)
Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA)
Certified Financial Forensics (CFF)

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