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Do you know what women fear most during a divorce? Money issues. Yes, worries about finances topped the list above concerns about their children. This highlights how important it is for women to have good sound financial guidance during and after a divorce. Something my colleague, Stacy Francis, CFP®, and owner of Francis Financial, knows very well.

This month Stacy’s co-authored a white paper titled “Unveiling the Unspoken Truth: The Financial Challenges Women Face During and After Divorce.” It is one of the first studies to focus solely on women and the impacts of divorce on their financial lives. Here are some of the highlights from the findings:

• Husbands spend too much. In this study, 24% of the participants stated that their husband’s spending habits were their biggest financial concern. And to think we often label women as over spenders and emotional buyers. Looks like men fall into this unhealthy pattern, too.

• Divorce takes a long time. The average time it takes to get through a divorce is 10.7 months and if the case goes to trial then it can take up to 17.6 months. Word of caution: Don’t tell your clients it will be over quickly, as it may not be. 

• Divorce can boost your financial confidence. Overall, women found that divorce forced them to manage money alone, and as a result, their confidence grew. It seems that learning how to invest, taking control of your money, and working with a trusted advisor had a positive impact on most women’s relationship with money.

• Lack of confidence can look like disinterest. What I found very interesting was that a study done by Hearts and Wallets, mentioned in this white paper, found that women’s lack of confidence is often misunderstood as disinterest by advisors. So the next time you hear a colleague say to you, “She is just not that interested” referring to a client, challenge that advisor to consider what else might be going on for the client. It could be her low confidence level is the culprit.

• Divorced women regret not having known more about finances. Twenty-two percent of women in the survey wished they had a better understanding of finances as they were going through the divorce. This represents a big business growth opportunity for advisors out there wanting to specialize in helping women navigate this tricky emotional and financial time in their lives.

The bottom line is women in transition, like divorce, need support from financial services professionals who care, work with a team, and are interested in empowering them financially.

Want to know more about this white paper? Then click here to receive a free copy.

Also check out the Breaking Money Silence® podcast airing on August 16, 2017, as Stacy Francis, CFP® will be my guest. Click here to sign up for podcast updates and receive a free money receive a free article, “5 Tips for Breaking Money Silence in Your Life.”

What do you think of these findings? How might you incorporate this information into your practice? Or your life?