Sapers & Wallack
Case Studies
Financial Planning Individual Case Study
Client:
A 60 year old career woman who owned a business with her soon to be ex-husband.
Issue:
The 60 year old career woman was referred to us by her accountant to help her sort out her financial situation after her divorce left her with a cash settlement. She and her husband owned a business together for 20 years. She had spent the majority of her career building the business and hadn’t planned to retire for several more years. In the divorce agreement, her husband agreed to give her a cash settlement in exchange for keeping the business. He agreed to pay her a declining amount of alimony for the next six years. Although this left her with a fair amount of money, she was no longer receiving her salary and she had never lived within a budget.
The Solution:
The professionals at Sapers & Wallack customized a lifetime income plan from her lump sum of cash given her increasing need for money as her alimony decreased and her expenses increased due to inflation. The Sapers & Wallack team managed the client’s expectation for the amount of income she would be receiving as well as determined her tolerance for risk and fluctuations in the stock market.
Highlights to the solution include:
- Devised an investment plan that fit her varying needs of income in each year according to the decline of her alimony.
- The client was able to maintain her style of living and was impressed with the financial planning team’s careful and sensitive approach to the emotional and financial implications surrounding the divorce.
- The client could also plan for the future in later years because the investment portfolio combined an annuity with two managed portfolios providing her with both growth and income over her lifetime.
Outcome:
The client was able to pursue the same things she had always wished for despite the unanticipated divorce and early retirement. The financial planning team worked with the client to come up with a livable budget; she was able to maintain her lifestyle while surrendering the business and her salary. With the implementation of the plan, the client was able to combine stable investments to live off of now while aggressive funds would help maintain her lifestyle in future years.
Case study for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.