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Divorce cases also require managing the client’s emotions
throughout the process. Many clients will be sad, angry,
and possibly even unwilling to communicate with the
other party in the beginning. Your role is to offer patience
and empathy, showing that you understand what the
client is facing. One challenge is that clients will come to
you in various stages of their own divorce process, with
different levels of emotional distress. Especially if it’s early
in the process, you may want to encourage your clients to
seek third-party counseling so that they don’t feel they’re
working through the emotional aspects of divorce alone.
How can attorney education provide value?
Family law attorneys aren’t always tuned into the financial
and tax aspects of dividing assets. For example, retirement
assets, such as pensions and 401(k) plans, play a big role.
The question is, how can we help eliminate or minimize
taxes when dividing these assets? Attorneys are often aware
of the need for a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO)
to divide qualified retirement plan assets without income tax
consequences. (A QDRO is not needed to split IRA assets.)
What they may not consider, however, are the tax concerns
associated with future distributions. If a client will need to
take a distribution sooner, what are the tax implications?
If a pension plan is under discussion, have the parties
considered when the client can have access? It may not be
until much further down the road that one party retires.
How will this time frame impact the client’s budget?
Your role may be to help the attorney divide assets in a
manner that saves money. Is there a way to eliminate the
need for a QDRO by looking to another asset for division?
The sooner you can get involved in the process, the easier
it may be to manage the client’s expectations and resolve
these types of questions.
What are some marketing best practices for
growing a divorce practice?
Networking continues to play an important role in
relationship building. If you’re seeking to grow your divorce
practice, you may wish to expand your networking with
attorneys outside the estate planning bar and into the
family law bar. Try doing more than just attending bar
meetings on a regular basis. For example, to keep your
message in front of potential referrals, you might:
•
Build in lunch meetings with attorneys as schedules allow
•
Step up your marketing game with tools such as
Constant Contact and regular mailings
•
Advertise in local bar association publications
Be sure to review your business website to ensure that it
truly reflects your message. You may or may not find it to
be a big source of referrals, but it’s important to keep your
site up to your standards. Are you listed with relevant
professional organizations such as the CDFA? Today’s
clients are Internet-savvy, and it’s not uncommon for
them to go online for research and referrals.
It’s also worthwhile to study up on the family law practice
and its lingo, including changes in the legislative environment
and common negotiation practices. If you can, sit in on
meetings with attorneys and learn about case law. By
building your knowledge, you’ll be able to show your
referral sources that you understand their work.
Remember, it may be more difficult for an attorney to
refer a client with an existing financial advisor than it is
for you to refer a client in need of a family law attorney.
Carving out a specialty in helping divorcing clients may
be the key to opening doors.
What can you learn from your referral relationships?
Attorneys, like any other professional, have reputations.
Examining this reputation may give you an idea of how
the attorney typically approaches divorce cases. Is he
known to be litigious, or someone who promotes mediation?
Is she a seasoned family law attorney, or does she dabble in
family law practice? What is the attorney’s communication
style? One important observation may be how the two
parties’ attorneys work together.
A client’s attorney relationship is often based on the
attorney’s fee (what can the client afford?); the complexity
of the case; and possibly a personal referral. While you are
assessing the attorney’s recommendations, knowing these
other factors can help you guide the client through the
