Your divorce decree is signed, and you assume the money part is done. Then the loose threads start showing up: the beneficiary you never changed, the deed still in both names, the retirement account that was awarded to you on paper but never actually divided. In this episode of Divorce Happens, Kristina Heckel, CDFA®, CFEI®, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, Fresh Starts expert, and the principal and founder of Bloom Divorce Advisory Services in Arizona, shares five practical tips for getting your finances organized whether you're considering divorce, in the middle of it, or rebuilding on the other side.
Kristina starts with a habit anyone can begin this week: take yourself on a money date. Pick a coffee shop, bring your statements or open a budgeting app, and spend undisturbed time learning what's coming in, what's going out, and which forgotten subscriptions are quietly draining your account. Next comes "grace with a plan," her answer to decision fatigue: take a breath, sort what truly needs your attention now from what can wait, and put deadlines somewhere you'll see them. Her third tip is to build your paper trail before anyone asks for it. Knowing what you own, what you owe, and where your money moves can save real money in attorney hours, and she walks through the kinds of documents and free reports worth gathering.
Then Kristina gets into the details that cost people later. "Not every dollar is the same": depending on your income and goals, cash, after-tax dollars, and retirement dollars can carry very different value, and dividing a 401(k) requires its own domestic relations order that many people forget about. And finally, "the paperwork after the paperwork," the beneficiary changes, deed transfers, utilities, retitling, and refinancing deadlines that don't take care of themselves once the decree is final. "Personal finance is personal," she says, and the right plan is the one built around what you actually need.
Connect with Kristina Heckel and Bloom Divorce Advisory Services:
🌐 Bloom Divorce Advisory Services (including the Vault Kit and the Bloom Forward community): https://www.bloomdas.com
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomdivorceadvisory/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-heckel/
💙 Fresh Starts expert profile: https://freshstartsregistry.com/resourceguide/bloom-divorce-advisory-services
🔗 Check out Fresh Starts Registry:
The first & only divorce registry + support platform ➡ https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshstartsregistry/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshStartsRegistry
🎙 Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/divorcehappenspod/
📬 Magazine: https://divorceguidemagazine.com/
💛 The Divorce Happens Community: https://divorcehappens.substack.com/
