PlanningDivorce.com is Financial Divorce Preparation. Saving you time, money, and the stereotypical drama of divorce. Because you want all of what’s rightfully yours.
We organize your financial facts. You make informed decisions.
Before you spend a dollar on legal retainers, hire our team, consisting of mortgage advisors and financial advisors each certified in divorce, licensed appraisers, and CPA’s.
We build your complete financial picture: The house, the retirement accounts, the tax changes, translated into plain English.
You walk into the attorney’s office with a plan, and every billable hour paid to your legal team is used for strategy instead of untangling.
You’ll stop wondering what every divorcee is thinking about:
Anonymous. No email required. Nothing is filed, no one is notified.
Our work is available throughout your divorce.
Yes — meeting a financial neutral before a divorce attorney usually saves money. Family-law attorneys bill an average of $344 per hour (Clio 2025 Legal Trends), and much of that time goes to organizing and explaining a client’s finances. Arriving with a complete financial plan means your attorney’s hours go to legal strategy — not paperwork archaeology.
A financial neutral is an impartial financial expert who works for the divorce — not against either spouse. They inventory assets and debts, model settlement scenarios such as a house buyout, and translate tax consequences into plain language that both parties and their attorneys can act on. PlanningDivorce.com provides financial-neutral services for a transparent flat fee.
A full-scope attorney divorce averages about $11,300 per person, and contested cases commonly run $15,000–$30,000 or more each (Nolo/Martindale; LegalZoom). Preparation changes the math: 90–95% of divorces settle before trial, so the outcome is decided by organization and negotiation — and prepared clients cut the discovery-and-organizing portion of the bill substantially.
Only if three numbers line up: the equity you must buy out, the mortgage you can qualify for on one income, and the taxes that follow the transfer. Many people qualify while married and are declined after the decree. A real-estate equity analysis models all three before anything is signed — so the house you keep is one you can actually afford.
A CDLP® is a mortgage professional certified by the Divorce Lending Association at the intersection of family law, real estate, tax, and mortgage planning. They structure settlements so the housing decisions in a decree — buyouts, refinances, support income — actually work with lender rules after the divorce. Audra McMahon, the founder of PlanningDivorce.com, has held the credential across a 20-plus-year lending career.
A financial neutral works for the divorce itself, keeping both sides on one set of numbers. A CDFA typically advises one spouse’s side. A traditional financial advisor manages investments, usually with little divorce-specific training. If you want fewer expert fights and a plan both attorneys can execute, start with a neutral — the roles can still combine later.
Often, yes — but not automatically, even if you qualified while married. Lenders re-underwrite you on one income, and support payments only count under specific timing and continuity rules. This is the exact problem the CDLP® credential exists to solve: structuring the settlement so the refinance or new mortgage in your decree is one a lender will approve.
Everything is confidential. Nothing is filed, no one is notified, and your session exists only between us. Many clients start planning quietly before their spouse knows — building a clear picture of your own finances is legitimate, legal, and often the safest first step. The assessment on this page requires no name and no email.
No — a plan is not a filing. Understanding what you own, what you owe, and what your life costs doesn’t end a marriage; roughly a quarter of people mid-divorce still believe the marriage could be saved. The financial clarity is valuable whether you stay or go — and it’s the one part of this process you keep either way.
Amicable is exactly where expensive surprises hide: 46% of divorced women report financial surprises after the fact (Worthy/ADFP survey), usually inside a ‘simple’ trade like the house for the retirement account. Those two assets can be equal on paper and tens of thousands apart after tax. One neutral review protects an amicable agreement — and the goodwill behind it.
Four repeat offenders: splitting a retirement account without a QDRO (income tax plus a 10% penalty — roughly $74,000 on a $200,000 mistake); keeping a house you can’t refinance; treating equal dollars as equal value while ignoring taxes; and making decisions reactively, before the full picture exists. Every one of them is preventable with a plan made before anything is signed.
Start with one confidential conversation — not a filing. Divorce after 50 has the most at stake: household wealth drops about 50% in gray divorce, and there is less time to rebuild. We reconstruct the full picture with you, one document at a time, in plain English, without judgment. ‘I don’t know where to start’ is the most common starting point we see.
Yes. PlanningDivorce.com is based in the Kansas City metro with bistate expertise in Kansas and Missouri, and works with clients in all 50 states by video. Multi-state asset portfolios are a core specialty: equity positioning, buyout modeling, and capital-gains analysis for every property, wherever it sits.
Baby, it ain’t over till it’s over! Until your settlement is signed and your divorce is final, there is still time to review—and potentially refine—the numbers. We might as well look now.
In approved cases, our fees may be paid from your settlement proceeds when your divorce is finalized. A minimum $1,000 investment is required upfront, along with all third-party costs, including CPA and attorney fees. Services remain full price, and package discounts do not apply when payment is deferred.
If your divorce is not finalized, you remain responsible for all third-party costs paid on your behalf, plus $500 for each month you utilized our services. Unpaid balances may be pursued through legal action. If a judgment is entered, a lien may be placed against your home, and you may also be responsible for applicable attorney fees and collection costs.
You are not alone, and there is no shame in not knowing the details of a financial life you were never expected to manage. You do not need account numbers, passwords or a complete list of assets to begin. Starting privately with what you know, we will help you understand the financial life surrounding you and identify what deserves closer examination. When necessary, our network of highly specialized professionals can assist with complex financial research and discovery services, quoted separately. Our first priority is helping you move from uncertainty to informed, independent clarity—quietly, carefully and one step at a time.
what the average family-law attorney bills (Clio 2025 Legal Trends)
average full-scope attorney divorce, per person — $20,400+ if an issue goes to trial (Nolo/Martindale)
of divorced women report financial surprises after the fact (Worthy/ADFP survey)
of divorce cases settle before trial — preparation and negotiation decide the outcome (ABA)
“The most expensive divorces aren’t the angriest ones. They’re the unprepared ones.”
Most people find this page the way you probably did: late, quietly, somewhere between a hard conversation and a search bar. Maybe you’ve decided. Maybe you’re still not sure. Either way, the next step isn’t a lawyer’s retainer — it’s understanding what you own, what you owe, and what your life actually costs.
Walking into a lawyer’s office without that picture is like grocery shopping while starving and without a list: every decision is expensive, and none of them are strategic. What we build together replaces panic with a plan — whether or not you ever file.
No one needs to know you’re planning. Take the anonymous assessment to see what’s at stake in your specific situation — no name, no email, nothing stored.
Start the assessment →Breathe. Don’t sign anything yet — not the house, not the accounts, not a “temporary” agreement. Book a call this week and we’ll triage what’s urgent and what can wait.
Book a confidential call →A financial neutral is an impartial financial expert who works for the divorce — not against either spouse. They inventory assets and debts, model settlement scenarios such as a house buyout, and translate tax consequences into plain language that both parties and their attorneys can act on.
Attorneys practice law. Most don’t model tax consequences, mortgage qualification, or multi-state capital gains — and at $344 an hour (Clio 2025 Legal Trends Report), you don’t want them learning your finances from scratch. A neutral does that work once, for a flat fee, and hands both sides one set of numbers everyone can trust.
Yes — and the order is the whole point. Hiring a financial neutral before you retain a lawyer prevents reactive decisions, protects your portfolio, and saves thousands in billable hours. Your attorney starts from a finished financial roadmap instead of a box of statements.
Organizing documents, chasing account balances, reconstructing what you own — it’s all real work someone will do. The only question is whether it happens at legal-strategy rates, or once, calmly, at a flat fee before anyone files anything.
And because 90–95% of cases settle before trial (ABA), the prepared side isn’t just saving money — it’s the side that shapes the settlement.
Answer a few quick questions, and we’ll help identify where to begin.
Select every statement that applies to you.
Flat Fee: $1,500
Your home is often your largest financial asset.
Prepared by a Local licensed appraiser.
We answer:
• What is your home worth?
• How much equity is available?
• Can you afford to keep it?
• Should you refinance?
• Should you sell?
• Can I assume this mortgage?
• What are the mortgage and tax implications of every option?
Prepared with licensed real estate and mortgage professionals so you understand every housing scenario before negotiations begin.
Start with a strategy call →Flat Fee: $1,500
Prepared with a licensed CPA.
We uncover the financial reality of everyday life.
We organize:
• Income
• Monthly living expenses
• Household cash flow
• Assets
• Debts
• Financial documentation
• Annual cost of living
This creates a clear financial picture so decisions are based on facts—not fear.
Start with a strategy call →Flat Fee: $1,500
Prepared with a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA).
Divorce doesn’t just affect today. It affects the next 10, 20, or 30 years.
We evaluate:
• Retirement accounts
• Pensions
• Investment accounts
• Long-term savings
• Stock options and deferred compensation, when applicable
• Tax implications of dividing assets
• Strategies for preserving long-term wealth
Our goal is to help you understand what your financial future could look like before permanent decisions are made.
Start with a strategy call →Rather than asking you to coordinate multiple financial professionals on your own, PlanningDivorce.com brings the right experts together for you.
You receive coordinated financial guidance from the professionals who specialize in each area—without spending hours trying to assemble your own team.
Because the more organized your financial information is before legal negotiations begin, the more efficiently your attorney can focus on protecting your legal interests.
Our most comprehensive option is: Flat Fee: $2,900
The Complete Financial Foundation
PlanningDivorce.com charges one flat fee, quoted in writing at the end of the free strategy call — before any work begins. No retainers, no hourly meters, no surprise invoices.
For comparison: the average family-law attorney bills $344 per hour (Clio 2025 Legal Trends Report), and a single overlooked tax consequence — a retirement account split without the right paperwork, a mistimed home sale — can cost $50,000 or more. The plan usually pays for itself several times over before your attorney’s first invoice.
Free first call — 20 minutes, no obligation
Flat fee quoted before you commit to anything
100% confidential — nothing filed, no one notified
You keep the plan either way — file or don’t
Not legal or tax advice — we translate, your professionals decide
Three steps. Each one ends with something in your hands.
A confidential, big-picture review of what you own, what you owe, and what you most want to protect. No documents required for the first conversation.
You leave with: your flat-fee quote and a priority list.
We untangle the complex — multi-state property, retirement accounts, tax consequences — and hand it back to you in plain English.
You leave with: a complete asset map and scenario models.
You walk into the attorney’s office with a clear plan. They execute it — instead of billing hours to discover it.
You leave with: a financial roadmap any attorney can act on.
Most clients complete steps 1–2 before ever paying an attorney’s retainer. And the plan is yours to keep — whether or not you file.
Free 20 minutes · No obligation · 100% confidential
Only if three numbers line up: the equity you must buy out, the mortgage you can qualify for on one income, and the taxes that follow the transfer. Most people only ever check the first one.
Equity = market value − mortgage balance. Your spouse’s share is typically bought out through a refinance, an offset against other assets (often the retirement account), or installments. Each route carries a different cost, timeline — and tax bill.
Plenty of people qualify for their mortgage while married and are declined for the buyout refinance after the decree — because the settlement was written without lender math in mind. Support income only counts under specific timing and continuity rules. This is the exact problem the CDLP® credential exists to solve.
Married couples can exclude up to $500,000 of gain when selling their home; a divorced individual only $250,000 (IRS Section 121). If your equity is large, the order and timing of the sale versus the decree can swing the tax bill by tens of thousands.
A dollar of home equity is not a dollar of retirement money — not after tax, and not after the refinance. The Real Estate Equity Analysis models all three numbers before anything is signed.
For over two decades in mortgage lending, Audra kept seeing the same quiet catastrophe: couples who qualified for a loan while married — and one of them, months after the divorce, rejected for the very mortgage the decree assumed they’d get. Not because they did anything wrong. Because nobody ran the lender math before the papers were signed.
“I trained as a Certified Divorce Lending Professional so I could step in before anyone signs anything. A judge’s note isn’t a blank check — the settlement has to work in the real world, with real lenders, real taxes, and your real income.”
— Audra McMahon, CDLP®, founder of PlanningDivorce.com
A CDLP® (Certified Divorce Lending Professional) is a mortgage professional certified by the Divorce Lending Association at the intersection of family law, real estate, tax, and mortgage planning. It’s the credential for making sure the housing decisions in your decree actually work after the divorce.
“I walked into my attorney’s office with a binder and a plan. She told me I’d just saved myself a month of billable discovery.”
“Audra found a tax consequence in our ‘simple’ agreement that would have cost me more than her fee — twenty times over.”
“I hadn’t touched our finances in thirty years. She never once made me feel stupid. I understand every number in my settlement.”
Twenty confidential minutes. We listen, we look at the big picture, and you leave with a priority list and a flat-fee quote — whether or not you ever file.
The answer is simple:
Because attorneys argue the facts. We gather them.
Book a complimentary strategy call on Zoom now or email hello@planningdivorce.com with your preferred phone number and windows of communication. You will be called from an unknown number in the times you provide. We do not email you back unless you give us permission to do so.
Our assessment and services are confidential and anonymous. No automations. No inbox cluttering. And if you’re not ready now – Be honest. How’s that working out for you?