00:00What would you do if your husband of 20 years suddenly left you and your kids without explanation?
00:05That's what happened to Belle Burden as she retells the story of her divorce and the shock
00:10that came with it. It also nearly made her lose her financial fortune, she writes in her book
00:15Strangers, A Memoir of Marriage. Burden had a wealthy upbringing, but as she writes,
00:21she was completely unprepared when her marriage ended. She discovered she knew far less about her
00:26family's finances than she thought. And while she had sidelined her career raising her three kids,
00:32her husband had succeeded at his and made millions. Burden's story isn't unusual. In many couples,
00:40men are in charge of the money. Nearly half of women say they feel financially dependent on their
00:45partner compared with 16% of men, according to a study by Fidelity Investments. You know, I think
00:51it's pretty easy just to coast, especially if you've got somebody in your life that takes care of it
00:55and really takes care of it well. And my husband's always been one to encourage me to get involved
01:00in our finances. He's always been the one that's like, you got to learn this, you got to learn this,
01:04but I never really felt like I needed to. And, and I think that's kind of something that the book
01:10sort of made me feel like, you know, it's, it is something that, that I should pay attention to
01:15and that I should be a little more involved in. Now, women are learning from Burden's mistakes.
01:21They're turning book club meetings into financial forums. They're comparing investments,
01:26tax returns, and retirement accounts. And in some cases, they're even calling up divorce
01:31attorneys to talk about prenuptial agreements and to hash out postnups. Near Detroit, financial
01:38advisor, Jennifer Bloom and her sister host workshops to help women avoid Burden's fate.
01:43They teach them the basics of financial self-defense, know whose names are on deeds, where the money
01:50is invested, who handles taxes. Make sure you have regular check-ins with your spouse.
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