There’s a phrase dating back to the early 20th century, which according to an article in Mental Floss, was spread by British diplomats who might have been oversimplifying a Chinese saying: “May you live in interesting times.” The idea behind that, of course, is the idea that “interesting times” often mean chaotic times in which the world as we know it changes dramatically.
Regardless of your politics, it’s fair to say that living in the United States in 2025 constitutes “interesting times.” Just a few months into the second term of President Donald Trump, and we’re seeing a great deal of change both home and abroad, and one of the biggest changes is an economic policy largely built on tariffs – or, at least, the looming scepter of tariffs resulting in reconstituted trade deals between the U.S. and other nations.
What does that have to do with divorce? Well, given that divorce is sometimes concerned with a couple’s assets and debts, any economic uncertainty is going to bring additional levels of anxiety to a process that produces anxiety all on its own.
According to Cristina Baumgardner of Lucent Consulting, a financial professional whose work in divorce cases includes business valuations and serving as a financial neutral in collaborative divorces, the biggest challenge right now is determining how changing economic tides might impact certain valuations.
Let’s say, for example, you own a business dependent on imports and you’re exploring options to file for divorce. The valuation of that business will figure into determining the couple’s total assets, depending on certain factors, and if prices for what you’re selling go up as the result of tariffs, the decreased sales that might result could affect how much the business is deemed to be worth.
It doesn’t just affect business valuations. You’ve seen what’s happened to the stock market since Trump took office — the Dow Jones Industrial Average is creeping back up toward its inaugural day mark in January, but it’s down overall, and in one intense week in April, it lost 11 percent of its value.
“A lot of the investment accounts people are holding are fluctuating quite a bit,” Baumgardner said, bringing up how it might affect a mediation.
“Everything is updated, especially right before mediation or even at mediation sometimes, just to reflect current account balances, especially when they’re assigning one account to one person. If they’re splitting it 50/50, it doesn’t really matter as much. But if somebody’s taking an entire stock portfolio or an entire retirement account, it’s really important for those balances to reflect current-day values.”
But you also need to be mindful of what you can and can’t do when it comes to money and divorce. Typically, standing orders in effect for divorces in Bexar County (and many other places) don’t allow money to be moved, property to be sold, or debt to be incurred (absent an agreement or court order). If you and your spouse enter into the divorce process and you mutually decide you want to move an investment to what you perceive to be a safer vehicle, you need to involve your divorce lawyers and make sure you’re doing exactly what you agree to do with the investment.
But know that only a financial neutral will give you financial advice – most lawyers will send you to a financial evaluator. Lawyers are not normally skilled in finance or economics, which is why they’ll lean on the expertise of financial analysts.
And under no circumstances should you act on your own to swap one type of asset for another, even if you have good intentions. Efforts to move money could be perceived as an attempt to hide money, and Texas divorce laws demand that each party come clean about the totality of their finances.
The financial uncertainty could also potentially affect the home market, so if you’re planning to sell the marital estate as part of your divorce process, know that interest rates and the willingness of people to commit to a home purchase could be affected. If you’re trying to keep the house yourself and rework the loan, the lender’s willingness to do so could hinge on economic factors like the inflation rate and interest rates.
If you’re looking to work with a family lawyer to protect your financial interests in divorce, the Law Office of Lisa A. Vance is available for an initial consultation to better assess your situation. And if your case could use a financial expert like Cristina Baumgardner to assess what your business is worth or to serve as a financial neutral, they can pull her in to work alongside them to settle your case.