Portland Family Law Financial Analyst & Mediator Matthew House
In law school, Mediator Matthew House received significant training in divorce-related finance. He decided several years ago to gain additional financial expertise to provide superior service to clients.
Family Law Financial Analyst
Matthew completed training as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) but chose not to pursue certification. He concluded that the regulations of the organization would have required him to unduly limit the scope of his mediation services.
Instead, Matthew created a proprietary (and, in his view, better and more detailed) training curriculum and is a Family Law Financial Analyst (FLFA). The curriculum, a comprehensive approach to all financial issues in a divorce, will provide you with unmatched thoroughness and thoughtful solutions.
Matthew's expertise as a divorce mediator and Family Law Financial Analyst enables him to fuse the two into a comprehensive process that no individual divorce mediator in the Portland metropolitan area has replicated.
Instead, Matthew created a proprietary (and, in his view, better and more detailed) training curriculum and is a Family Law Financial Analyst (FLFA). The curriculum, a comprehensive approach to all financial issues in a divorce, will provide you with unmatched thoroughness and thoughtful solutions.
Matthew's expertise as a divorce mediator and Family Law Financial Analyst enables him to fuse the two into a comprehensive process that no individual divorce mediator in the Portland metropolitan area has replicated.
Comprehensive Financial Training Makes the Difference
Your divorce experience with Matthew will include:
- Identifying your needs and goals
- Collecting necessary financial documentation
- Addressing any client concerns about the other party's potential financial dishonesty
- Describing all components and aspects of the divorce process
- Defining all legal and financial terms
- Correcting commonly-held misconceptions
- Delineating separate property and marital assets
- Considering potential community property issues
- Determining whether an asset or debt can be divided
- Assessing whether an asset or debt can be transferred
- Identifying all potential sources of income
- Calculating income and take-home pay correctly
- Valuing assets, debts, and income accuraately
- Accounting for future taxes and transaction costs
- Factoring in any debt associated with an asset
- Being aware of any dates that may affect the proper valuation
- Considering any dates or deadlines that could influence the equitable distribution
- Abiding by relevant laws that may limit the potential options
- Addressing any potential issues with beneficiary designations
- Structuring survivorship provisions appropriately
- Offering suggestions as to best practices for the resolution of each issue
- Providing alternative dispositions to consider, if available, even if not ideal
- Pro tips to keep in mind
- Pitfalls to avoid
- Determining whether any third party's discretion or approval is needed
- Considering the short-term impact of decisions
- Considering the long-term impact of decisions
- Considering the impact on children
- Drafting the Marital Settlement Agreement artfully and, if necessary, creatively
- Implementing safeguards to ensure compliance or protect against the negative effects of unforeseen circumstances
- Offering options for delaying the implementation of decisions, if the parties do not want to execute a particular decision immediately
- Providing a clear roadmap for the post-mediation execution of the decisions made in mediation
- Making post-divorce resources available if you want them