For Lawyers
Mark has the training and experience to work with lawyers in different approaches to divorce, including both traditional and Collaborative. He holds both CA-CPA and CBV designations. Mark has work experience in the financial and operational management of businesses, forensic accounting, litigation support, and business valuations. Mark uses DIVORCEmate in his practice.
We employ a creative approach in the practice, built upon a strong technical knowledge base. For issues that we deal with, we provide lawyers with analysis in ‘non-accounting’ language. We then present various options for resolution, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each.
Within the traditional divorce model, the services we offer include:
Compilation of client financial information (Net Family Property, Financial Statements), with comments on the valuation and taxation issues inherent therein
Income assessments for support purposes (considering Guideline adjustments)
Business valuations, or critiques of same
Value calculations of settlement alternatives to facilitate valid comparisons of different proposals
Under the Collaborative model, all of the services above, plus:
Acting as a financial neutral in meetings
Accumulating, summarizing, and commenting on financial information
Providing financial counseling to couples, individually or together
Educating individual spouses to even-up power imbalances
Evaluating settlement proposal alternatives
Our practice model is to work closely with a limited number of lawyers and develop relationships of trust. Once established, we often find that we can provide lawyers with an oral review of issues that is sufficient, as opposed to the higher level of expense that accompanies written reports.
We are independent and do not sell any financial products. We are not investment advisors. Mark is bound by the ethical codes of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators.
We can be retained by you (the lawyer), or directly by the client. We work only on a retainer basis.
Full biographical information and references available upon request.