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Between March and June 2020, 34 percent more couples were filing for divorce than in the same period in 2019. The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders is to blame. The strain on a marriage of unemployment, financial insecurity, illnesses, deaths of friends or loved ones, and homeschooling children, have pushed many couples to file for divorce.
With this divorce “tsunami,” family law attorneys are feeling overwhelmed with a dramatically increased caseload, and clients are frustrated with a Court system delayed by lockdown. Hoffman Divorce Strategies (HDS) with its unique set of skills and experience in accounting, financial planning and divorce can help attorneys manage and win more cases for their clients and can help divorcing clients understand the quality of financial settlement proposals and strategize with their attorneys. With our training in mediation and collaboration HDS can work with clients who wish to try to settle their property and support away from the court room.
HDS can help in the following ways:
- Staying current with tax and financial developments; We have incorporated the changes of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) into our practice with other financial strategies, to provide relief to those struggling financially because of COVID-19. We have also prepared a comprehensive CLE for attorneys called “Coronavirus Settlement Strategies in Financially Stressed Times,” so that bar associations, firms and individual attorneys can fulfill their mandatory continuing education and learn techniques that will help them in their practices.
- Incorporating technology; HDS has used virtual meetings, secure file transfers and digitization of documents for over 10 years. Familiarity with technology has allowed HDS to complete several mediations on a virtual basis, without the need for physical meetings.
- Staying focused on the clients’ financial need; Making sure that all the vital bills are being paid, each party has the cash they need, particularly if one or both are unemployed, and helping a family maintain the financial status quo, as close as possible, while going through the divorce process.
- Organizing the file; Attorneys and clients appreciate our ability to efficiently organize and Bates number case documents and deliver these documents digitally through a secure online file system.
- Keeping track of court dates; HDS works with clients and their counsel to ensure that the necessary financial reports and documents are prepared for hearings or meetings.
- Our Consulting Compensation
Bringing us into the case is cost-effective when considering the tasks, we perform. We provide defensible reports that help the attorney and client clearly present their case in court, or to come to a settlement without intensive litigation.
Whether the attorney refers the client to us, or clients find us on their own, generally, the client pays our fees directly to us.
At Hoffman Divorce Strategies, we work with family law attorneys to assist them and their clients in making the financial decisions that are important for their future. We work as part of a team in litigation, collaboration, or as a private financial mediator. Contact us for more information.