Latest / Financial Planner Search / Divorce, Money & Starting Over with Leah Hadley | Financial Planner Search
Transcript
- Chase Walters: Hey Leah, thank you so much for joining me today on the podcast. How are you doing today? Leah Hadley: Thanks for having me. I'm well, Chase. How are you? Chase Walters: I'm doing great. I'm I've been really looking forward to our conversation today. Leah Hadley: Likewise. Chase Walters: Well let's jump right in, Leah. Can you tell us a little bit about your practice and what you specialize in? Leah Hadley: Absolutely. So we operate as two separate companies. Intentional Wealth Partners is focused on financial planning and portfolio management. And Intentional Divorce Solutions supports people through the divorce process. So we really have a high level of expertise in divorce specifically. So a lot of people who are reaching out to us are those who are potentially in the middle of the process or maybe just recently have divorced. Chase Walters: That's really interesting. So you have you're operating in two separate companies. One of them specializes in divorce and the other one was what again, sorry? Leah Hadley: Intentional wealth partners, that's our fee only financial planning and portfolio management. Chase Walters: Interesting. So what's the origin story behind this, Leah? How did this how did this come to be? Leah Hadley: Yeah, it certainly was not planned, I'll tell you that. I have my undergraduate degrees in sociology, my master's degree is in education. And so I never took a finance or accounting class in many years of schooling. and was teaching, I was teaching in Baltimore City Public Schools and got really burnt out in the classroom. And I was drowning in student loan debt, and I just needed a job. And that job happened to be at a regional investment bank based in Baltimore. and I took a temp job as an administrative assistant that happened to be in the equity research department. And I remember walking in that very first day to that investment bank and thinking, Chase, everybody around me was speaking a foreign language. Like I literally did not know Chase Walters: Ha ha ha. Leah Hadley: what they were talking about. And it turned out, even through all my years of education, I didn't know there was this whole language around building, creating, and protecting wealth. And so that was a really eye-opening experience for me because I walked in. Feeling like an educated individual. I had some professional experience behind me already. And it was a very humbling experience to realize how limited my knowledge was. And it really took me on a journey. I was very fortunate. I had wonderful, wonderful mentors in the equity research department that were like, you're never gonna make any money doing that. Like, why don't you learn what we do here? And so I had a great opportunity to become a research associate, become an equity research analyst, and ultimately become a senior analyst. Publishing report. Specifically, I was on the sell side around consumer durable stocks that we covered. And so I was kind of on this path and I was doing a lot of travel and it was really such an awesome place to be. Then I wanted to have a family. And having a position like that and having a family just didn't fit for me. It wasn't in alignment. It didn't feel like I was gonna be able to be the kind of mom I wanted to be and support the kids in the way I wanted to support them. and be traveling and have earnings season and all the expectations of an equity research analyst. And so I decided to take my experience investing and start supporting individuals and families as a financial advisor. And I started that in 2012 with a big broker dealer. And I worked there for a few years. And then I worked for another broker dealer. But ultimately I realized that if I really wanted to support people the way that I wanted to be able to support them, that I needed to create a model that really met them where they are. And so in two thousand and sixteen, I established both intentional divorce solutions and intentional wealth partners. Chase Walters: Wow, that's that's quite a story. and I can imagine walking into that room for the first time when you in the in when you in your first temp job. Leah Hadley: I literally had to walk through the trading floor to get to where I sat in my desk. And it was like just like the space itself and the environment was totally overwhelming. I was like, what did I just walk into? Chase Walters: Do you do you think that that that being in that environment and that being around that kind of pressure kind of acted as an inspiration for you to get into the field? Leah Hadley: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, once you start to learn how to create wealth, that there's a system, right? It's not this like magical thing that people act like it's, you know, it's something that's a learnable skill. I got excited and being able to have an impact on families who I care about. Yeah, absolutely. It definitely inspired me to get kind of on this path. Chase Walters: And so moving moving on, moving forward, you worked with that broker dealer for a while and it sounds like that was all right, but then you decided you you basically wanted more freedom, is that correct? Leah Hadley: Exactly. Chase Walters: And so can you walk me through what what was your thought process at that time? What was happening for you? and how did you go about that? Leah Hadley: You know, the biggest thing for me, when I was at the first broker dealer, I had gotten the CDFA designation, which is a certified divorce financial analyst. And at that time, that particular company did not recognize that designation and didn't offer any services for people who are going through divorce. and one of the things that I learned as I started supporting more and more people in this space is it can be a little bit complicated for some of these bigger firms. with all of the compliance requirements that they have, to have the freedom and flexibility to adjust and change based on what people's needs are. And the fact of Chase Walters: Mm-hmm. Leah Hadley: the matter is, Chase, there are no two divorces that are the same. They are all different. and so having some flexibility from a compliance perspective was really, really critical and to be able to support people the way that I wanted to support them. Chase Walters: And so, what what got you specifically into the divorce support side of things? I know there's a story behind that. Leah Hadley: Yeah. And it's kind of interesting how it evolved for me. You know, I my parents divorced when I was eight years old. I was raised primarily by a single mom. I had pretty limited interaction with my dad. And I was very fortunate that my mom was actually an accountant. and she had her MBA, which for her generation is pretty unusual. so she was pretty financially savvy. So she raised me to be pretty financially savvy. And as an adult, one of the things that I realized. Was like, how was she able to do so much as a single mom? She was so incredibly resourceful. and so a lot of what I saw her be able to provide for us when I started working with other single moms and seeing how much they struggled, I realized, hey, there's some skills that I learned here that could be incredibly valuable. One of the things that I saw when I entered that first broker dealer. Was I had inherited a book of business and a lot of people would just go through a divorce and blow through their assets after the divorce was final. And what it came down to was poor planning. It's is is the agreement didn't really take into consideration reality, right? and so I was talking with a friend of mine about this experience, and I was sharing with her kind of my frustration. She happens to be a family law attorney, and she was saying, Well, Leah, there are a lot of opportunities for financial professionals to get involved with the divorce process. And so that kind of taught took me in an interesting direction. I learned about collaborative divorce. I became a mediator, became a CDFA, master analyst in financial forensics. So I really dove deep into how we could truly support people in a really, really meaningful way. And then I went through my own divorce and chased that as Chase Walters: Mm. Leah Hadley: an education that nobody wants, but boy, will it propel you in understanding what somebody's really going through and making those financial decisions. And even as a financial expert. I struggled with the financial decisions I had to make in that process. My children were young at the time. It was extremely emotional. It's just a hard time to be making objective decisions. Chase Walters: And so on that note, let's talk about the type of person who comes to you and what they're typically experiencing when when you meet them the first time. Leah Hadley: Yeah, the vast majority of people who come to us are individuals. They're single. They may have, you know, just been single by choice. Maybe they recently went through a divorce, maybe they lost their spouse. Most people are, for whatever reason, becoming responsible for their finances on their own, potentially for the first time in their adult life. They are responsible. The weight of the decisions that they're making feels overwhelming. They're stressed. They might be waking up at night worrying about money. Those are the people who we can really help in such a meaningful way. Chase Walters: And so what are some what are some of the questions they typically ask when they meet you for the first time? What do they come to you with and w what are they what are they asking for? What are they curious about? What's keeping them up at night? Leah Hadley: You know, a lot of the people that we serve really, really well are people who call and say, I know I need to talk to you, but I don't even know what I'm supposed to ask, which I think is amazing because if you think put yourself in that situation, right? That's a hard call to make, to pick up the phone, call a professional and say, I know I need to talk to you, but I don't even know what to ask. So if if you are sitting in that situation, first of all, want you to know that you are absolutely not alone. And We will absolutely receive those calls. But some of the things that people can ask are how do you support your clients? What kinds of results do you see for your clients? What kinds of problems do you solve for your clients? Right. So the things that we really solve for people, first and foremost, most of the people that we work with don't have complete financial clarity when they start with us. And so we really focus on making sure not only do they understand their current financial situation, but they have clarity about the direction that they're headed. Now, a lot of times when people reach out to us, they've been through a major life transition recently. They may not have a great vision for what they want their future to look like. They may still be looking at how do I just stabilize my current situation so I can start to feel confident enough to create a vision for what I want for my life. So I always tell people, you don't have to know what we're planning for, but we do need some direction, right? To start to think about what really is important to you. what your priorities are and how do we look at that from a financial planning perspective. Chase Walters: And going back to what you said in the beginning there, for someone to actually pick up the phone and call a professional, likely someone they've never met before, and say that they don't know what they don't know, basically, that takes a lot of courage. It's a very vulnerable position to be in. Leah Hadley: Absolutely. Chase Walters: And so how do you how do those converse those initial conversations usually go? How do you how do you handle that? Like you I I'm imagining someone on the other end of the line is, you know, maybe not in a very Happy state of mind. How do you how do you approach those conversations? Leah Hadley: Yeah, depending on where their mental state is, I may say they might not be ready for the conversation. So I'll just be honest with that. if you're feeling completely emotionally overwhelmed and not able to regulate enough to kind of sit down and talk things through, and I get it, we have lots of people really struggling in tears. and we have a wonderful on our divorce practice, we have a divorce coach who can really help kind of bring people down and work through some of those emotions. So if we need that support, we absolutely have that. But I always start with what prompted you to reach out? and just open up the conversation. You know, what what's going on in your life that you felt like now is the right time to reach out, to have this conversation? you know, I you know, once we start to dig in, I can just ask more questions. But I always tell people that initial conversation, especially, Chase, just a chance for us to get to know each other. Like, let's take the pressure off. I'm not trying to sell you something. You don't want to be sold. You're in the middle of a horrible situation in a lot of cases. Sometimes it's a wonderful situation. Honestly, like transition looks different for everybody. Regardless, there's a lot of change happening. And so the most important thing is for us to just have an initial connection. Let's talk and get to know each other. Chase Walters: think that's awesome. You just said you have a divorce coach on staff. Is that on staff or outside? That's Leah Hadley: Correct. Yeah. Chase Walters: awesome. That's amazing. And so you're not just you're not just there to help them sort out their their finances, are you? There's a lot more to it. Leah Hadley: Yeah, under the divorce business, we offer divorce financial planning and analysis, divorce mediation and coaching. and so we offer all of those services under that umbrella. Chase Walters: Yes, but beyond it seems to me that beyond the the actual services that you offer, like that's awesome. But it sounds like you're also offering like a lot of emotional support through a very tough time as well. Leah Hadley: Absolutely. Chase Walters: Are there any and it's okay if the if you don't have any examples, or if you don't want to go into any, but I'm I was curious if you have any specific stories about a client in the past that stands out, maybe someone who who you really helped through their their struggles and helped them through a transformation from point A to point B. Leah Hadley: Yeah, absolutely. So we I have lots of examples. But one that comes to mind is a woman who, I want to say she was probably in her early 50s when we started working together. She came through our divorce practice. She was going through a divorce that her husband had initiated, and he had always been the breadwinner. they had a little bit of more challenging time with parenting because they did have a child that has severe special needs that required required significant time, energy, and resources from my client. and then they had other children as well. And so they were all their children were kind of grown and out of the house, if you will, when they were going through their divorce, but this child with special needs is going to require assistance throughout her lifetime. And so part of that planning involved making sure that she was going to be able to be supported through her lifetime, depending on how things evolved. and in this particular situation, the husband had actually claimed a disability claim and was potentially retiring early. So there was a lot of financial complexity in terms of figuring out how was this actually going to work for this family, had a lot of financial demands, but also needed to separate into two households. and my client in particular had not had her own income, you know, for the whole time that she was raising her children, and had never really spent any money on herself. At the conclusion of her divorce, she was responsible for an investment portfolio that was about a million dollars. And for her chase, that was debilitating because that felt like anything, any mistake that she made could potentially cost her quite a bit. And she's relying on this money to support herself for the rest of her life, right? and so this was a really big deal. And so what happened for her, she just wouldn't spend. First of all, she was extremely, extremely conservative initially when we started investing. and she would like she wouldn't even second guess buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Like she just would not spend money on herself. and through the financial planning process, she was able to get a lot more confident with how she was invested. And actually, now it's been so many years of like the investment reviews and talking about the strategy, she's actually gone a little bit more aggressive and is getting better returns, which is phenomenal. a lot of our folks start out more conservative because they have gone through a big change initially. and so that's fine. We're we're always kind of reflecting back on what investment strategy makes the most sense. but more importantly, I want to say, yes, absolutely, I want her to feel confident in her investments, but she's living her life in a way that she feels confident spending money. And I think that's really critical. I've heard so many women over the years saying, like, I don't want to be retired eating cat food. Like, no, I don't want you to be either. Right. Chase Walters: Right. Leah Hadley: And so making sure that she has a plan in place where she feels confident, she actually went away for an entire week with some girlfriends, which was a huge accomplishment for her to actually spend money on herself, take time away from her caregiving responsibilities and do that for herself. But I think that shows just how much progress she was able to make, which is amazing. Chase Walters: That's an awesome story. so you have like two ends of the spectrum here. you mentioned earlier that some people will just blow through all their assets right away, and then there's you have this woman on the opposite end of the spectrum. do you find that one or the other avatar dominates or it like is it a mix? Like what do you see in your clients mostly? Leah Hadley: Yeah. So what I was talking about originally when I was saying how a lot of folks go through a divorce and then will blow through their assets, that is if you don't do any financial planning through the divorce process to really understand what your settlement looks like and how you can be proactively managing that for the next several years, right? and so our clients are those who are really focused on making sure that they're going to be taken care of. They're people who maybe are concerned about running out of money and making sure that they feel confident that they have a plan in place, they won't run out of money. So we typically don't see that situation that I saw early in my career because we're specifically planning. So people are not in that situation. Chase Walters: Awesome. and so if let's say let's say I'm I am getting to let's say I'm a woman and I'm and I've just discovered that that I'm I'm gonna be single very soon. bef is what are some steps that I can take right away to kind of get centered and start to put a plan in place? Leah Hadley: Recommendations that I always share with people is so much is living in people's heads. When they're going through transitions, they have a lot of balls up in the air, and a lot of it just lives in people's heads. I really encourage people, and I am a pen and paper girl, to actually sit down, get it all out of your head, and get it on paper. That allows us to see what's really actually on your mind. Because a lot of times people actually kind of anchor in or get stuck on things. That aren't actually the problem that needs solving. And so allowing us to get some clarity around what's under the hood, if you will, really helps to diagnose the problem, right? and so getting that clarity is is really beneficial. I do wanna say, Chase, that while we absolutely market directly to women, the men who reach out to us tend to be having the exact same challenges. that the women who reach out to us have, right? And so it's the same thing. It's it's financial anxiety, it's concerns about maybe your wife was the one who handled the finances in the marriage and now you're fully responsible for it. so it's less about gender and more about the level and kind of support that you need. Chase Walters: And do you find that that the men and women are they deal with things exactly the same way, or do you find that there is a divide or a difference between the way you work with them or the way they walk through these these situations? Leah Hadley: That's an interesting question. I would say, you know, I don't think there's any one size fits all for anybody. When people are going through Chase Walters: Mm, that that makes sense. Leah Hadley: these these life transitions, it triggers everything that has come up in your life, right? All the early childhood stuff, all the unresolved stuff. Like when you're going through these things where you feel a loss of control, it triggers a lot of that stuff. And so people's behaviors, and I always remind, you know, my my team members of this and my colleagues of this. When people are going through a life transition, they're not themselves. They're not the best version of themselves. Right. And so we want to give them a lot of grace and space to recognize that, hey, things are changing in your life right now. And whatever feels like the most important, urgent priority in this moment may change five minutes from now. And we recognize it because we understand the process that you're going through. We've been there and we can really walk people through it again. Chase Walters: Right, it makes sense because it's not it's not just a loss of of a partner or a loss of assets. It's partially a loss of identity too, isn't it? Leah Hadley: Absolutely. Chase Walters: And so where do you typically find your clients or wh how do people typically find you? Leah Hadley: So I have a podcast called Intentional Divorce Insights that is pretty widely followed. So that is a fantastic place to get even just information about the divorce process, get resources, all of that. And we have a wonderful, wonderful program called the Empowered Sisterhood. The Empowered Sisterhood is a membership community. That one is specifically geared toward women. And it's women who are really focused on increasing their financial literacy, increasing their financial confidence. They do not need to be a financial planning client with us to be a member of our empowered sisterhood community. And so a lot of times people will come in through that community and then they may become a some other kind of client. Chase Walters: Wow, that's awesome. so f when it comes to your practice, what are your goals for the next few years? Like where do you what's your vision for the like in the next one to three years, Leah? Leah Hadley: Yeah. You know, the I would say the biggest thing that I feel like I'm really fighting against is so many people, and especially with the the change with the growth in AI usage, feel Chase Walters: Mm-hmm. Leah Hadley: like they have to do everything themselves. They have to figure everything out themselves. And we deal with people who are in a time where you're not thinking clearly. You need to have the clarity of mind to make good decisions. The decisions that you're making during life transitions typically have very, very long-term impacts. And so it's really important that you're getting good, clear advice. And so my vision is really about communicating this message of it's okay to get support. And that's what I love about our membership community. You know, it's a very small commitment, but it gives you support. It gives you permission to ask questions. It gives you an opportunity and a space. to start talking about money. That's one of the biggest barriers to getting the help that people need is just the ability to even talk about it. Chase Walters: Awesome. So your goal basically is to continue to inspire people to and empower them to feel comfortable, basically, to reach out for help. And do you have like a Leah Hadley: Yeah, that's really a big focus. Mm-hmm. Chase Walters: do you have like a number attached to that? Do you have like a specific thing or is it just like I'm just pushing forward and letting it rip? Leah Hadley: Yeah, over the next three years, I would love for our empowered sisterhood membership community to reach five hundred members. Chase Walters: What's it at currently? Leah Hadley: Twenty five. Chase Walters: Twenty five. Okay. All right. Five hundred members in a few years. Awesome. Leah Hadley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Chase Walters: It sounds like it's an incredibly valuable, and im well, important community as well for a lot of the like I imagine the members are getting a lot of value out of it, especially Leah Hadley: Yeah, one of the special things about it, we do these weekly coffee chats. And during the weekly coffee chats, we always start with gratitude because everybody's going through challenges. And so we want to ground in gratitude. We have an open space to just ask questions, to talk, whatever's going on. And then we conclude our coffee chats with a goal or an intention for the coming week. And Chase, to witness the goals that these women are reaching and to be in community and celebrating together. Is just one of the most beautiful things I've been able to do in my career. Chase Walters: Sounds like absolute magic. Leah Hadley: Yeah. Chase Walters: so those five hundred members from twenty five, is there anything standing in your way? Are are you facing any challenges? Leah Hadley: So it's a newer program. we just launched it within the last year. So I think the the challenge is getting the message out there and making sure we're connecting with the right people. Chase Walters: Awesome. as and as you've grown, as you've gone through this journey, Leah, are there any programs, any training or any people that have positively impacted your approach and the the way that you serve your clients? Is there anyone you'd like to give a shout out to? Leah Hadley: I would love to get a shout out to Nancy Hetrick. Nancy Hetrick is the woman who started the Divorce Financial Planning Training Institute. I don't know if that's exactly what she calls it. But Chase Walters: Okay. Leah Hadley: when she first launched the program, she was my very first business coach in doing the divorce work. And I'll tell you, every case when it comes to supporting people through the divorce process, every case is different. Every state is operating with different laws. Every county has their own nuances within those states. Chase Walters: Mm. Leah Hadley: and so it can be very hard to develop the confidence to really support people well through the divorce process because it is a lot. I I I refer to it as financial planning on steroids. Chase Walters: Ha ha. Leah Hadley: but Nancy was really the first person who gave me the confidence to know that any challenge that came up, hey, I have resources, I can connect with colleagues, we can talk it through, and now I can be a support to other CDFAs, which is awesome. Chase Walters: Awesome. Well, Nancy, if you're watching, that's your shout out. Awesome. That's excellent. So let's say let's say I'm I'm coming to you the for the first time today, Leah, and I'm I'm gonna become a client. Okay. what does what what does the what does it look like? what's the onboarding? What happens in the first four to eight weeks? What does the first year look like? Walk me through that. Leah Hadley: First appointment is always getting to know you. So I always tell people it's your plan, it's not my plan. And in order for us to be able to plan effectively, we have to fully understand what your values, what your priorities, what your worries are. And so we may ask about things that you hadn't thought about before, and that's totally okay. It might just be a bug in your ear, something to think about. but we're asking about all different kinds of things from You know, when do you plan to retire and how long do you think you're gonna live? To you know, are you going to be supporting aging Chase Walters: That question. Leah Hadley: parents? Right. So really looking comprehensively at the things that we need to talk about to really be able to plan effectively and to really build that relationship so that you know. Something happens, we're the first call. You know, when somebody passes away, we want to be there to support you. When you lose your job, we wanna be that one who's gonna help you with that transition. and so I think really knowing what people's situation is and understanding their life story is critical to being able to have that kind of relationship. So that first appointment is completely focused on them. It's a whole hour and it's really talking through what matters to them. I don't actually personally look at any numbers before we even have that appointment. and some of the other planners on our team may look at numbers, may request information first, but I personally would rather get to know you as a person before we start to look at the numbers. Then I go through the numbers, collect all of the financial information. We currently use Write Capital as our financial planning tool. so people upload their documentation there. and then we have a check-in meeting because inevitably, once I do go through the documents, I'm going to have some questions. I may need more information. And so with that's a shorter appointment and it kind of varies based on the information that's been provided to us and what we talked about in the first call. from there, it kind of depends on the nature of the relationship that we have. So we do offer one-time plans. So our whole planning relationship could just be an eight to 12 week relationship, and the next two appointments could simply be your planned delivery meetings. So that it's a one-time plan. We've walked that. Process and we're delivering a plan to you that you can then execute on. If we're going ongoing planning or managing your investments on an ongoing basis, we're still kind of finalizing that initial plan, but acknowledging that it's a working document that we're going to continue to update as we work together through that process. If we're moving over assets, that's the time where we're starting to talk about: okay, what does the investment strategy look like? What's the investment policy statement underlying on, you know, underneath that? And so that way we're on the same page in terms of managing that portfolio. Transitioning assets is always so much easier than people think it is. all we need is their statements. Very easy to move the the assets over if we need to do that. on an ongoing basis, we encourage people to meet with us every single quarter. We tell people they need to meet with us at least once a year. Chase Walters: Awesome. Excellent. Leah, I have only one more question for you, and that is for someone who's listening to this podcast who wants to get in touch with you, what should they do next or where should they go? Leah Hadley: Yeah, go to intentional wealthpartners dot CO. Intentionalwealthpartners dot CO. And right on there you can schedule a complimentary call. Just click the link, schedule your call, and we'll take it from there. Chase Walters: Awesome. Thank you so much for coming on, Leah. It's been a pleasure to have you on. Leah Hadley: Thanks for the opportunity, Chase. It was a pleasure was all mine. Chase Walters: Awesome.