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Who We Help  ·  Suddenly Single

When everything changes,
your finances shouldn't also feel impossible.

Whether you're navigating divorce or the loss of a spouse, finding yourself suddenly responsible for finances that feel unfamiliar is one of the hardest parts of an already hard time. We're here to help you slow down, get clear, and move forward with confidence.

Schedule a Conversation Meet Brianna →
Brianna Hook, CDFA
Brianna Hook, CDFA® Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®
The Transition Challenge

The math is the easier part

Clients who’ve saved well and arrived at retirement in strong shape still often feel uneasy about spending what they’ve built. Watching the balance go down — even according to plan — feels like going backward. That’s a natural reaction to a lifetime spent doing the exact opposite, and it doesn’t resolve itself without a plan you actually trust.

We also ask early what you’re retiring toward — how you want to spend your time, what this chapter looks like — because those answers end up shaping the financial decisions that follow.

The spending psychology shift

Thirty years of building a number creates a powerful instinct to protect it. Many retirees underspend — not because they lack resources, but because watching the balance decline feels wrong even when the plan says it’s fine. A plan you trust changes that.

Retiring to something, not from something

People who retire toward a clear sense of what they want — how they’ll spend their time, what matters, what the next chapter actually looks like — tend to find the whole transition easier, financially and otherwise. We ask those questions early because the answers end up shaping everything that follows.

How We Help

Practical support at every stage

Whether you’re in the middle of a divorce, recently widowed, or rebuilding months or years after either, there’s no wrong time to get a clear financial picture and a plan that reflects your life now.

01

Divorce Financial Analysis

Brianna’s CDFA® certification means she understands the financial and tax implications of asset division that most attorneys don’t. We model settlement scenarios, value retirement accounts and pensions, and make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to before you sign.

Divorce & widowhood guide →
02

Asset Division & Retitling

We help sort through which assets to keep, which to divide, and how to retitle accounts correctly so the settlement you negotiated actually ends up structured the way you intended.

Asset titling & trusts →
03

Building a New Budget

One income where there were two. New expenses, changed obligations, a different picture entirely. We build a realistic budget around your actual situation, not a generic template, so you know what you can afford and where the gaps are.

04

Beneficiary & Estate Updates

After divorce or the loss of a spouse, beneficiary designations, wills, and powers of attorney almost always need to be updated. We coordinate with your estate attorney to make sure nothing is missed.

Estate planning coordination →
05

Social Security & Pension Planning

Divorce and widowhood each have specific rules around Social Security and pension survivor benefits that can meaningfully affect your long-term income. We make sure you understand your options and don’t leave money behind.

06

Long-Term Financial Planning

Once the immediate picture is stable, we help you build toward what’s next: retirement income, investment strategy, estate planning, and goals that belong to you now.

Retirement transition guide →
How This Works in Practice

Two situations. The same steady support.

These are illustrative scenarios — not based on specific clients, but representative of the work we do and the kinds of situations where we can make a real difference.

Divorce

Two people came to us knowing their marriage was ending and wanting to get through it without costly mistakes. One wanted to keep the house; the other wanted to sell. After working through the numbers, it became clear that neither could sustain the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and maintenance on a single income — so they agreed to sell and split the proceeds.

The pension valuation was the other key piece. Once we established what the pension was actually worth in today's dollars, it came out roughly equal to the IRA and joint savings combined — which meant each person could keep their own retirement assets without splitting every account individually. The process moved faster, cost less in legal fees, and both parties had a clear financial footing on the other side.

Widowhood

A client's spouse had managed their household finances for years before passing unexpectedly. There was no single account list, no clear picture of what existed or where, and a self-employed business with its own finances tangled into the mix. The client didn't know where to start.

We started by working with the professionals already involved — an accountant, an estate attorney — to piece together the full financial picture. Once we had it, we helped consolidate accounts, retitle assets, update beneficiary designations, and put a simple, manageable financial structure in place. Several months later, the client had a plan they understood and could act on — and the confidence to run their business and their life on their own terms.

The scenarios described are hypothetical and are intended solely to illustrate the types of financial planning services that may be provided. They do not represent the experiences of any specific client. Actual client experiences and outcomes will vary depending on individual circumstances and it should not be interpreted as a guarantee of future results or client experience.

Is This Right for You

You might be ready to talk if…

There's no right stage to reach out. Some people come to us in the middle of a divorce. Others find us a year after losing a spouse, once the fog has lifted enough to think about what's next. We meet you wherever you are.

✓ You're going through a divorce and want someone to explain what the financial decisions actually mean before you agree to them
✓ You've recently lost a spouse and don't know what accounts exist, what needs to be done, or where to start
✓ You handled the finances together and now you're handling them alone — and it feels overwhelming
✓ Your spouse always managed the money and you're not sure what you have, what it's worth, or what to do with it
✓ You want someone to tell you honestly whether your financial picture is okay — and what to do if it isn't
✓ You're past the immediate crisis and ready to build a plan that's yours — not a leftover from a life that no longer fits
Who You’re Working With

You’ll work directly with Brianna.

Brianna leads on all divorce and life-transition work. Eric is equally involved in the planning that follows. You get both of them, not a handoff.

Brianna Hook, CDFA®
Brianna Hook, CDFA® Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®  ·  Life Transitions

Brianna earned her CDFA® designation because she saw too many people navigate divorce without anyone who truly understood the financial side of it. Her role isn’t to replace your attorney — it’s to make sure the financial decisions embedded in your legal process are ones you can actually live with long-term.

Her work extends well beyond divorce. She’s built her career around helping people whose financial picture has been upended — by the loss of a spouse, a sudden change in circumstances, or the realization that the plan that used to work doesn’t anymore. She approaches every situation with patience, specificity, and no judgment about where you’re starting from.

A note on working with both of us: While Brianna leads on divorce and life-transition work, Eric is equally involved in the planning conversations that follow — investment strategy, tax planning, retirement income, estate coordination. You get both of us, not a handoff.
Full bio →

Ready when you are.

No preparation needed.

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