A Love Story with a Twist – How to prepare your Marriage Timeline

by Guide To Good Divorce Molly Ward CFP®, CDFA®

In the fabled love story of Cinderella and Prince Charming, we are told they live happily ever after. Everything just works out and the happy couple spends the rest of their lives in married bliss. But that, of course, is a fairy tale, and we know real love stories don’t all have a happy ending.

In the fabled love story of Cinderella and Prince Charming, we are told they live happily ever after. Everything just works out and the happy couple spends the rest of their lives in married bliss. But that, of course, is a fairy tale, and we know real love stories don’t all have a happy ending.

What if Cinderella were to divorce? What part of her love story would be helpful for her to tell her attorney and her financial professional? Her bullet point list might look like this:

• November 1, 1775: C met PC at ball
• November 3, 1775: PC gave C returned the glass slipper to owner (note: slipper was an asset owned before marriage
• November 25, 1775: PC and C married
• December 2, 1776: PC, Jr. born
• April 27, 1777: PC’s father, King Charming, gave a separate property gift to PC of all the land of the Enchanted Kingdom, including the castle.
• November 25, 1775 to present day: C stayed at castle to support PC’s career

A succinct, simple outline is helpful to inform the attorney and your financial professional of the important events in your marriage. Most likely, this will save you time and money to be able to communicate these things to your professional team. This document will make meeting with your professional so much more efficient, as well as keep your head clear and focused on the facts.

Here are some details that would generate a great timeline:

• Dates for events such as wedding date
• Education accomplishments
• Career changesIncome changes
• Children’s dates of birth
• Changes in behavior
• Notable interactions with you
• Notable interactions or notable non-action with the children
• Loans taken out that are still outstanding
• Financial decisions made (i.e. purchased home and the price of the home)
• Move out date of spouse, etc.

A bullet pointed list with dates and short descriptions are sufficient to help inform your attorney and financial advisor so they may develop a strategy to move you forward and close out this rom com gone wrong.