The Private Advisory
(509) 357-1191Before you sign a divorce settlement, talk it through with Leanne.
Two-thirds of a divorce is about money. Leanne works out what the numbers really are, then pushes hard for an answer that is genuinely fair.
There’s a house. Retirement accounts. Maybe a pension, a business, rental property, income that never arrives the same way twice. Some of what you brought into the marriage has quietly mixed in with the rest of it. Leanne traces what is genuinely marital and what isn’t, then works out how each piece will behave once it’s split, so you know what you are agreeing to before you agree to it.
Leanne reads these herself. Your form goes to her and a very small team, never a call center. Leave your number and you will hear back within one business day.
Four ways people do this. She works in all of them.
With attorneys on both sides, in mediation, with no attorney at all, or as a couple trying to work it out together. Leanne does this in all four. Where both people are represented, her analysis can save months of discovery and the arguments that come after it. Where nobody is, she is often the one doing the financial work start to finish. She can sit in mediation, or you may never need her to meet a lawyer at all.
Most people arrive overwhelmed, not uninformed. You don’t need to become a financial expert, and you don’t need to fight over every line item. Above everything else Leanne is an advocate for the best answer she can find you, and she will not put her name to a number that isn’t fair, whichever spouse is paying her.
Leanne or our small team texts back during office hours. Text us at (509) 357-1191.
A $500,000 retirement account and $500,000 in home equity are not the same thing.
One has a tax bill waiting on every withdrawal. One is locked inside a building you have to insure, maintain, and eventually sell. On paper they're equal. In real life they buy two completely different futures. Courts approve what looks even. Leanne models what it looks like when you're living on it.
Once it's signed, the math is permanent. The time to talk it through is before, while the choices are still yours.
The questions she answers
- What your half is actually worth after taxes
- Whether the house or the retirement account is the better trade for you
- Why a pension is not an asset, and what knowing its value is worth to you in a negotiation
- Income that isn’t a simple paycheck: commission, overtime, seasonal, self-employed
- What your settlement looks like ten years after the ink is dry
A pension is the clearest example. It is not an asset and it does not belong in the asset column, whatever anyone tells you. It’s future income, a monthly check for life that starts years from now. Leanne establishes how much of it is actually marital and what that future income is worth in today’s dollars. Then, more often than not, she tells people not to trade it away. Knowing the number is what lets you say “keep your pension, I’ll take more of what’s on the table today.” That’s leverage, and you don’t hand it over.
You do not have to be on opposite sides to use her. Plenty of couples work with Leanne together, or before they hire attorneys at all. She gets both people looking at the same numbers, and you take a settlement your attorneys can review and finalize. For a lot of people that is the fastest and least expensive way through this.
31%. What one “half” settlement was really worth once taxes and early withdrawal penalties were counted. Same split on paper. A third of the value in the life that followed. Client story shared with details changed to protect privacy. Every situation is different.
What she does, and what she does not.
She traces what was yours before the marriage, finds what has commingled since, and works out how each asset and each debt will actually behave once it is split. Then she makes sure that analysis is in front of the people making decisions while there is still time for it to change something.
She does not give legal advice and she does not draft orders. She is also not going to sell you an investment product or ask to manage your money. That is not what this is, and during a divorce engagement it would be a conflict rather than an offer.
What she will do is push hard for the best answer available in your actual circumstances, and she will not put her name to a number that isn't fair, whichever spouse is paying her.
One business day, and you will know your next step.
1
Tell her where you are
The short form below takes about two minutes. Where you are in the process, what's on the table, and what worries you. It's confidential.
2
You hear back within one business day
Your form goes straight to Leanne and her small team, not a call center. It's read the day it arrives, and Leanne or a teammate will call or text you back. That call is short. It's to find a time that works for a real conversation with Leanne.
3
You'll know your next step
Sometimes that's working together. Sometimes it's one thing to go check with your attorney. Either way, you leave the call knowing more than you did.
“But you’re not in my state.”
Correct. The law is. The financial work is not.
Two thirds of a divorce is about money. Not just cash. The house, the IRA, the car, the pension. All of it gets called an asset, and none of it behaves the same way once it is split. What it costs to carry. How fast you could turn it back into money. What it does to you five years out. Same value on paper, completely different life.
That does not change at a state line. Dividing is what the legal process does. It does not model the result.
And it moves fast. In Spokane, where I practice, a contested family law hearing is scheduled for thirty minutes. Ten minutes a side, ten for the decision. Criminal trials take precedence over civil by rule, so the calendar does not bend for you. I do not know your county’s number. It is a fair question to put to your attorney, or to look up in your county’s local rules.
Whatever your financial argument is, it either arrives already built or it gets made in ten minutes in front of someone running behind.
The part I do happens before that. I cannot force discovery and I cannot conduct it. What I can do is work through what you already have, find what is missing, and turn the feeling that something is off into a specific question with a specific answer.
Do that early and the case usually gets shorter. Arguing about money is what stretches it.
Some of the people I work with have attorneys on both sides. Some are in mediation. Some are sitting down together before anyone is hired. Some are handling it themselves and need the financial side to hold up in front of a judge. I work in all four.
If you are not certain the financial side is getting the attention it needs, that is the thing to fix. Fixing it does not mean changing anything else.
You don't have to have it figured out.
If it's late and you're reading this at the kitchen table, I get it. That's where most of my clients are when they find me. You are not behind. You are not crazy. You are not alone. Tell me where you're at, and I'll take it from there.
“Leanne was very helpful in mediating the financial portion of a difficult and high pressure divorce. Leanne listened without judgment.”
Jerry P. Google review
“She is a strategist, coach, and advocate all in one. What sets her apart is not just her knowledge, but her genuine care.”
Ruby K. Google review
Yes, keep your attorney. And yes, she will tell you what it costs.
I already have an attorney. Do I still need this?
Yes, and keep your attorney. Divorce attorneys are good at the law, and you need one. Leanne's work is the financial modeling the law degree doesn't cover: asset behavior, tax drag, what your life actually costs per month. Attorneys refer clients to her for exactly that.
Can my spouse and I do this together?
Yes, and plenty of people do, including before anyone has hired an attorney. Leanne gets both of you looking at the same numbers, and you take a settlement your attorneys can review and finalize. For a lot of couples that is the fastest and least expensive route. She will not put her name to a number that isn't fair, whichever of you is paying her.
What actually happens on the call?
You describe the situation. Leanne tells you what she sees and what she would look at first. If it makes sense to work together she will say so and tell you what it would cost, and she is not going to pretend that part is not happening. It is the same conversation you would have with any professional you were deciding whether to hire. Some people become clients. Some leave with one thing worth raising with their attorney, and that is the whole call.
What if I am not ready to do any of this yet?
Then say so, and it will still not be a wasted hour. Some people finish a call with Leanne, see exactly what the path in front of them looks like, and decide they are not ready to walk it. That is a real answer, and she would rather you get to it honestly than agree to something you are not going to do. People reach her at every stage of this, including years before anything is filed. If that is where you are, the guide at the bottom of this page is a better place to start than this form.
What does this cost?
The first call is free. If it makes sense to work together after that, Leanne scopes what your case actually needs, and you'll know the cost before anything starts. Filling out the form commits you to nothing.
Will anyone know I reached out?
Your information stays inside our small team, and it's a very small team. If you ever do work together, billing shows as "Boardroom Financial" on statements. Discretion is built into how the practice runs.
Not ready for a call?
Start with the free guide instead: Nobody Warns You About These 3 Divorce Money Mistakes Until It's Too Late. Ten pages, no fluff, from Leanne. Read it and decide for yourself whether to call.
Get the Free Guide →