Peak Divorce Advisors
"Empowering our Clients to Make Informed Financial Decisions"
Our Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® and Certified Financial Planner® Professionals
provide the following Divorce Financial Planning services:
Pre-Divorce
- Provide an overview of the divorce process and help our clients understand the financial issues related to divorce.
- Review different options for getting divorced including Alternative Dispute Resolution- a collaborative approach that allows parties to understand each other's positions and offer creative solutions outside of the courtroom.
- Facilitate referrals to local divorce attorneys, mediators, valuation experts and other divorce professionals.
During the Divorce
- Determine client's financial condition and help organize financial materials and documents.
- Assist in the preparation of preliminary financial disclosures required for procurement of a California divorce. These important disclosures serve as a basis for splitting property, and determining spousal and child support.
- Perform a marital tracing to uncover separate property, debt responsibility and possible hidden assets.
- Perform a Lifestyle Analysis to establish the standard of living during a marriage and determine the day-to-day living expenses and spending habits of each spouse.
- Analyze pensions and retirement plans.
- Provide a financial analysis to help resolve property distributions and examine the pros and cons of different divorce settlements.
- Advise clients on necessary tasks that should be completed before the divorce is final.
Post-Divorce
- Arrange for transfer of settlement assets and the closing of joint accounts.
- Establish a cash flow plan and budget.
- Design a comprehensive investment strategy based on individual financial goals.
Who We Are
Helen Sipsas, MBA, CDFA®, CFP®
EDUCATION:
- B.S., Finance, University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business
- M.B.A., Finance -Loyola Marymount University
- Divorce Mediation Training Program - Northwestern University
- Fundamentals of Forensic Accounting Certificate Program - American Institute of CPA's
CERTIFICATIONS:- CDFA® -Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™ - Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
- CFP® -CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ - Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:- Institute of Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA)
- CalCPA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:Helen’s experience includes 24 years in the financial services industry where she has worked in auditing, financial planning, asset management, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, growth financing, debt restructuring and exit planning for privately held businesses. In recent years she has focused her practice on serving the needs of clients progressing through various stages of the divorce process, including post divorce planning.
Donald Ramirez, CFP®
EDUCATION:
- B.S., Finance, University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business
CERTIFICATIONS:- CFP® -CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ - Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
- Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™ - College for Financial Planning
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:- National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP)
- CalCPA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:Don Ramirez is the co-founder of Peak Wealth Advisors and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Prior to founding Peak Wealth Advisors in 2009, Don was a Senior Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch for 14 years where he was consistently rated a Platinum Service Provider for receiving client survey rankings in the top 10% of his peers.
Don is a seasoned advisor with a great depth of knowledge in professional money management, tax and estate planning. He is also an experienced entrepreneur having started a successful tax software distribution business and an electronic filing bureau which grew to 30 employees supporting over 500 tax offices throughout California. Don is past President of the Camp Ocean Pines board of directors and past President of the Central Coast Council for Planned Giving board of directors. A Rotarian since 1993, he is an active member of the Cambria Rotary Club.
