"Divorce is as much a financial separation as a legal one," says Nicole Brucker, a Certified Financial Divorce Practitioner® and the founder of The Sapient Solution Advisors, LLC in Chicago. It's also "a vulnerable time when your emotions are on the surface. It's easy to let your emotions dictate your actions." Finance and emotion should be mutually exclusive, but it can be hard to separate them.

Brucker's job is to empower you to get through the financial complexities of your divorce with information and emotional support. With her wide-ranging background and experience, you can gain control of your financial future.

Empathy from personal experience

Brucker began to focus her financial practice on divorce after going through her own divorce in 2005. She recalls how her emotion affected her financial decisions to the point that she ended up with an unfair financial settlement – saddled with more of the marital debt and depreciating assets. "As I talked to people about it," she explains, "I found I wasn't alone.

"Many divorcing people can't look past what's happening now to focus on the long-term decisions they have to make," Brucker adds. "You develop your attitudes toward money when you're young, and you need to recognize why you make the decisions you do." With her personal and professional expertise on the financial consequences of divorce, she can help you achieve what's in your best interests.

Educating clients on the possibilities

Brucker establishes friendly, mutually respectful relationships with clients as she helps them pursue the post-divorce lives they want while maintaining their previous financial standard of living. She says that you need to understand your current financial situation before you can determine what's possible after divorce: "Cash-flow analysis is the first step." Then Brucker tailors her counseling to your specific circumstances.

"As a Certified Financial Divorce Practitioner®, I provide expertise on the financial consequences of property settlements, alimony, and maintenance, as well as the valuation of pensions and calculation of tax consequences of stock and home sales. I also provide the necessary tools for my client to make sound financial decisions."

Offering clients financial wisdom and sound judgment

Unlike most financial professionals, Brucker has an extensive educational background not just in finance but also in liberal arts – with degrees in music, religious studies, and international studies. She also speaks German and Japanese. "Socially-minded people aren't often drawn to the finance industry," she says. "But my background gives me a comprehensive picture that allows me to see things from a different perspective.

"Despite the sizeable number of divorces each year, family-law attorneys and mediators don't have the training in tax laws and pension-plan evaluations necessary to understand the financial implications of divorce." That's where you need the sound financial judgment and wisdom Brucker can offer. "For me, it's not about pushing a product, but helping people understand the choices they make."

Helping you get through divorce

With a wide spectrum of knowledge and understanding, Nicole Brucker helps people overcome a life phase she knows intimately and turn an unexpected event into a new, independent life through financial guidance and divorce settlement analysis. "Remember that you'll get through this as a stronger, more empowered and liberated person, even if you don't feel like it today," she advises. "It will get better."

For more information or to book an appointment with this financial advisor, please contact:

Nicole Brucker, Certified Financial Divorce Practitioner®
500 Davis Street, Suite 812, Evanston, Illinois 60201
Office:  (847) 866-2072
Fax:  (847) 866-2071
Website: www.thesapientsolution.com
e-mail: nicole.brucker@thesapientsolution.com

Nicole Brucker offers a free 30-minute consultation
for DivorceMagazine.com readers.

Nicole Brucker has written the following articles:

FAQs:

• "I want a divorce, but I'm worried about how it will affect me financially -- especially in the current economic climate. Is it a bad idea to divorce in a recession like this?"
• "Who should keep the house?"
• "Will a judge decide the amount of the child support or can my spouse and I decide on the amount? What about college expenses? Can I change the amount once the settlement is finalized?"
• "What if my spouse doesn't pay child support he or she has been ordered to pay?"