A Letter From Wendy

Over the last 20 years, my professional roles and responsibilities have progressed from accounting manager, to director of finance, to VP of Finance, to the CFO position, experiences I now leverage as the founder and CEO of Mitchell Hayes. If my career has a unifying theme, it’s my passion for creative financial planning and solutions for complex financial transactions. The corporate environment prepared me to exercise my talent for developing the kinds of creative financial settlements that my divorcing clients need to move forward post-divorce.

When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, my professional background made me the family’s de facto choice for handling my mom’s finances and preparing my mother for the move to an assisted-living arrangement. During this process, I worked with a wide range of service providers, including health care organizations, insurance companies, banks and investment firms. As I navigated the challenges associated with my mother’s life transition, as well as the drastic market fluctuations that occurred while adjusting my mom’s assets to develop a budget that would provide her a comfortable life, I realized that none of these individual parties were advocating for my mother’s overall position.

This got me thinking about life transitions in general. Working on my mother’s behalf was not the first time I had encountered a lack of “big picture” advocacy and support. Many years prior, I had gone through a complicated and difficult divorce. As an accountant I understood that the financial aspects of divorce were a business transaction. The emotional turmoil was another matter. Looking back, I realize I did not receive solid financial advice during the divorce. My attorney never explained the intricate financial details concerning things like a family business, taxes, capital gains, dividing retirement assets, or the cash flow implications of selling a home. In fact, I believe my attorney probably struggled with these concepts himself. The reality is that while lawyers are legal experts, even the best divorce attorneys are rarely trained to handle complicated financial analysis or assist clients with financial plans for their future.  Mitchell Hayes works with your attorney and tax specialists to ensure that you receive the best settlement and most favorable tax treatment.  In addition, we will work with you to develop a financial plan for the next 10 to 20 years post-divorce.  Mitchell Hayes will also ensure that once you receive your divorce decree that you will have the tools to successfully implement the terms of your settlement.

So, I decided to couple my personal and professional experiences with my love for innovative, small businesses and launch my own company.  Mitchell Hayes is dedicated to assisting divorcing clients.  As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™ (CDFA™), I have the skill set (and the personal experience) necessary to ensure that my clients receive the best possible financial settlement. Our goal is to expertly analyze your past, present and future resources so, together, we can develop a plan for a comfortable future designed to meet your financial goals and priorities.

I look forward to speaking with you soon.

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Founder
Mitchell Hayes