“Thought Starters” for 2024

I hope these “thought starters” will help close 2023 and make the most of 2024:

  1. Acknowledge What Went Wrong and Move Towards your future: What’s done is done and we can’t go back and change it, so recognize the errors and the changes that need to be made. This is our challenge and our opportunity for 2024.
  2. Be kind to yourself: Celebrate your Progress! Acknowledge how far you’ve come and “keep your eyes on the prize” despite any 2023 setbacks (job loss, death, overspending, disability, divorce, market declines, missed goals, procrastination etc.).
  3. Measure What Matters: As Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Understand what matters to you and measure your progress towards achieving your goals.
  4. Focus on What You Control: We can’t control other people, politics, the stock market, or social media but we can control what we think and what we do each day. Ever check an email or text only to look up 20 minutes later and find yourself scrolling on your phone, not knowing how you got there?!
    It is up to us to put in place ways to control our behavior and to hold ourselves accountable to our goals and values. This is particularly important when headlines fill you with fear. Don’t waste your valuable time on what you can’t influence or control.
  5. Protect Your Wealth: Implement ways to protect your assets, life, health, income, personal information, family, and confidential data so that when a crisis occurs you can meet expenses and make the most of new challenges. We protect our wealth using insurance, updated legal documents, sufficient emergency savings, updated organized finances, and updated resources (lines of credit and portfolio). We work together to keep moving you towards your financial goals through life’s challenges.
  6. Tax Allocation: Planning your taxes is essential to helping you to keep more of what you’ve earned. To make the most of opportunities we must work together to understand your base tax profile and adjust it through the year so that we can execute on available tax strategies by year-end. During high-earning years we often prioritize tax savings while keeping our eyes on the big picture that may indicate recognizing higher taxes to gain a future advantage.

Edi Alvarez, CFP®
BS, BEd, MS

www.aikapa.com

Key Points of a Divorce that Everyone should know

It is our goal to provide each client with education and empower them to integrate finances into their lives so that they can support their wishes now and for the future. We should all know the financial impact behind our decisions before making our choices. Couples can find that finances along with shared future goals can empower and strengthen their relationship but at times, future goals are no longer aligned, and couples choose to go their separate ways.

A divorce is a legal process to address the separation of two lives in an orderly and legal manner and allow each adult to move forward in their new lives. In California, it doesn’t matter if this is a traditional marriage or a domestic partnership nor does it matter if it is with same or opposite sex partners.

Over the years I’ve attended many divorce financial planning events and, last weekend one that was particularly good, so I thought I’d share what these professionals said about the next most important step after deciding to divorce.1

My goal below is to educate everyone and is not intended only for those considering a divorce.

What needs to happen to obtain a divorce?

A divorce is granted either by an agreement generated by a judge or one generated by negotiation— or usually both. A divorce judgment is a legal document that declares that the marriage (or domestic partnership) is dissolved and typically includes an agreement on income, debt, assets, and parenting responsibilities. To receive a divorce judgment requires that a petition be filed, a declaration of disclosure, and then wait 6 months plus a day. [Keep in mind that the professionals, at this event1, were all talking about California which is a “no-fault state.” In California it doesn’t matter who serves the divorce petition but in other states the process can be significantly different.]

In the divorce process there is a great deal of paperwork particularly around finances and parenting that is easier to assemble if you have a non-adversarial approach. For finances there is a requirement to file Declarations of Disclosure (initial & final) which includes income & expenses, assets & liabilities (emphasis on all assets), and income tax returns.

How can you go about obtaining a divorce?

  • DIY – Do It Yourself divorce. This process has the fewest fees and couples retain most of the control, but it does require agreement on the process and terms. Together you must cover the legal, financial, and emotional conversations in a respectful and non-threatening manner.
    We recommend that, at minimum, you have an attorney review your agreement before submitting it to the court. The costs will be limited to a filing fee and payment for the attorney and any other professional(s).
  • Traditional divorce, where the decision is ultimately made by a judge, takes control out of your hands. Instead, the judge will apply the law to determine your rights, responsibilities, and entitlements in what is an adversarial platform. This process is the most familiar, most expensive, and often most aggravating. The courts are swamped with cases, so this approach takes the longest to complete. The judge, moreover, doesn’t know you and will, nevertheless, pass judgments that will be binding. The law defines your rights, and the court can compel a party to adhere to the terms regardless of fairness.
  • Mediation is the polar opposite of the traditional divorce. It is a facilitated process to help the divorcing individuals come to an agreement using neutral professionals. In this process it is important to hire a mediator who knows family law and is not adversarial in nature. This private and voluntary process will require conversations and thinking outside the box so as to deliver an outcome that is acceptable to both. The intent is for an agreement that will last, take shorter time and be less expensive than traditional divorce, BUT equally binding. We find this process requires compromise and a willingness to reach a settlement. The challenges for this type of divorce are that each person MUST be able to remain civil and even friendly during mediation since both will need to compromise. This process is, therefore, not appropriate when there is a coercive, substance abusing or violent relationship. Unlike the traditional process you can’t force anyone to keep to their process or make decisions but once an agreement is signed and approved by the court then it is enforceable.
  • Collaborative process. Collaborative divorce is similar to mediation but is structured so that decisions are made together with a team of legal, financial, and mental health professionals on both sides that follow the same ‘collaborative’ approach. The goal of this process goes beyond the agreement and is particularly important for those who have children or will need to interact with each other for a period of time after the divorce (such as for co-parenting tasks that can last the life of the children). The process often results in private confidential and controlled agreements, but it can be very expensive since all the professionals concerned must be experienced and trained in the collaborative process, which is not the usual adversarial legal system. Although it can be the most expensive, the process may yield a more workable outcome. Like mediation, a collaborative divorce doesn’t work for anyone experiencing violence, coercion, or substance abuse.

Divorce is a dramatic change and is often accompanied by conflicting emotions of grief, anger, fear, and anxiety. It is therefore very difficult to make complex decisions during these emotionally intense periods. We have to acknowledge that humans are wired to perceive and respond to danger/fear with an automatic survival response which is the opposite of calm thoughtful thinking. The goal is to generate a calm and thoughtful environment. It is, therefore, particularly important to ensure that the behaviors, words, and actions be those you would find acceptable in the long-term, particularly in front of children. If children are involved, you must also follow Standard Family Law Restraining Orders.

What is AIKAPA’s Role?

We are not divorce professionals. Our role is to provide each of our clients with support regarding their finances by generating needed documents and answering specific questions. For some, this can be done by giving us permission to discuss your finances with your divorce professionals and for others it is done by answering questions posed by each client in individual or in joint conversations. When requested, we also create new financial plans for each client so that they can visualize their finances in the future. In Domestic Partnership dissolution we must also consider federal and state rules that will allow for the same outcome as is experienced for those in traditional marriages.

As a fiduciary, AIKAPA, must respond to both parties openly and completely.

We will not execute financial transactions without approval from both clients once we are aware that you’ve decided to divorce. We work to provide the necessary supporting financial materials in a balanced, sensitive, and factual manner.

Since we understand that a financial agreement in a divorce is a very personal and emotional document, we do not participate in creating the agreement with our clients. We encourage our clients to work together and ask us questions or hire individual divorce professionals to ensure that your agreement represents your wishes today and in the future.

Once there is a joint agreement and a court divorce judgment, we are tasked to ensure that the family portfolio assets are split as indicated in the agreement/court decision.

AIKAPA is here to support the family in each financial decision, but the choices and preferred actions rest with the family.

1Much of the content for this article was from a presentation by Collaborative Practices California – Collaborative Divorce North Bay. If you request it, we can share notes with you or you can join one of their Saturday morning webinars on this topic.

Edi Alvarez, CFP®
BS, BEd, MS

www.aikapa.com

Gamification of Trading

The suicide of a 20-year-old experimenting with trading on the Robinhood platform
has many calling for new regulations on trading. I think new regulations on the “Robo”
interfaces are required but not on trading. Robo platforms, like Robinhood, provide a
software interface that makes trading more like a game.

Brokerage firms have been on a serious race to engage directly with the young and the
inexperienced. Robinhood, E-Trade, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, Interactive
Brokers, Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, and many others have all embraced commission-free
and zero-minimum balance trading on platforms that focus only on the upside
of trading.
These platforms are more reminiscent of an animated game than a
serious financial transaction. Even those who have managed to make a little money on
day trading often fail to understand that there are tax consequences. They usually
reach out for assistance when they receive from these brokerage firms an unexpected
1099 with a large tax liability.

It is clear that what we need is more clarity on what is a game and what has real life
consequences.

Edi Alvarez, CFP®
BS, BEd, MS

www.aikapa.com

Aging gracefully―a blueprint for your future

If you could peek into the future and the final 10-20 years of your life, what would that look like? Do you see yourself traveling, healthy, energetic and excited about experiencing new challenges? Or do you have visions of illness, body pains, lethargy, disengagement and a lonely life?

What if you could manage that trajectory to a more positive future with fewer deficits and more joy? Research is churning out reports on how we can slow down the negative parts of aging and enhance the joyful aspects of our lives.

Throughout my life, I’ve met many people on both sides of aging. It is clear that our attitude drives this journey. It can turn us into victims or champions over our lives. Often it begins with our attitude each day―do we resign ourselves to a self-defeating diagnosis and settle for dissatisfaction? Or do we take daily challenges as an opportunity to remain engaged and positive? Experts in aging are in agreement that we will be much happier as we age if we are comfortable in our chosen lifestyle (that is to say, we are in the habit of doing things that give meaning and value to us) and that we don’t let our “illness” or age-related challenges define our daily lives.

As technology continues its exponential growth, the key to managing and thriving in this ever-faster moving era is our ability to adapt and remain true to ourselves. I believe equally important is to allow ourselves time to unwind and gain perspective. Unfortunately, most of us would likely skip ‘self-time’ (time for meditation or reflection) in pursuit of getting more accomplished.

Though it doesn’t take a financial windfall to have a healthy retirement, it does help tremendously not to have financial worries. Financial plans and conscious financial choices will help minimize financial anxiety and create an opportunity for a healthy retirement. Beyond this opportunity, it is up to us to build lifestyles (and needed financial resources) that give us joy today and throughout our later lives.

Research on aging recommends that we include the following:

  1. Though we are all different and choose different lifestyles, we all benefit from activities that provide us with at least a minimal level of social interactions. It is social engagement, according to these experts, that can add years and quality to our lives. In addition, volunteering has been shown to reduce pain as well as increase endorphins. Even when homebound, it is essential to be active and motivated.
  2. It is no surprise that a graceful happy retired life must also include regular and vigorous mental engagement. Your financial plan should be your guide to attain your goals, but it will be your consistent financial behaviors that will keep you mentally engaged with your money later in life. We are all aware that as we age we have a higher risk of memory loss, dementia and even Alzheimer’s. We can’t control inherited diseases (50% of those over 85 are affected with a dementia-like Alzheimer’s disease but that also means, 50% are not!) but we can rise to the challenge and keep our brains mentally active.
  3. Improving your quality of life includes addressing your physical health and diet. It is recommended that we exercise regularly, including at least 45 minutes of aerobic activity. A diet with reduced portions and elimination of processed foods appears to also be connected with healthier happier lives.
  4. Though sometimes difficult, it is essential that we be able to ‘let go’ of hate, resentment and regret that reinforces negative emotions. Though it’s never easy, experts say that ideally you’ll forgive or ‘walk away’ to attain a healthier life. I find that smiling every day makes me happier and has the added bonus that it makes others smile too.
  5. Finally, stay true to your lifestyle and decision process throughout your life. If you are comfortable in your core values and habits then even the worst challenges will be manageable.

In short, a successful blueprint for a long and rewarding life entails the intentional effort to remain active, engaged and positive.

Edi Alvarez, CFP®
BS, BEd, MS

www.aikapa.com