Joan Coullahan, CFDS
Areas of Expertise
I am qualified as an Expert Witness in the areas of:
- Present valuation of defined benefit pensions
- Tracing and calculation of appreciation/depreciation on separate property
- Tracing marital and separate contributions to home equity using Brandenburg and Keeling formulas
- Calculation of net cash flow to show need for spousal support
- Calculations and Reports:
- Tracing and calculation of appreciation/depreciation of separate or marital contributions to an asset
- Analysis and valuation of Defined Benefit pensions and Defined Contribution plans
- Calculation and valuation of lump sum Spousal Support with taxation effects
- Evaluation of benefits/consequences of retaining the marital home
- Analysis of cost basis of marital and mixed property
- Preparation of cash-flow analyses including Child and Spousal Support with tax effects
- Calculation of martial and separate portions of Stock Option Grants and Restricted Stock Units
Education
- Bachelor of Science, Business, University of Maryland, 1987
- Master of Business Administration, Shenandoah University, 1992
- Financial Divorce Association CE, 2007-2016
- Virginia CLE – Family Law Financial Topics, 1998-2015
- Collaborative Law Advanced Training, 2006 and 2011
- College for Divorce Specialists, 2003
- Collaborative Law Training, 2003
- Advanced QDROs and Pensions Institute, 2000
- Advanced Institute Training, 1998
- ICDP Basic Certification, 1997
Designations (Past and Present)
- Certified Financial Divorce Specialist
- Certified Divorce Financial Analyst
- Certified Financial Divorce Practitioner
- Certified Divorce Planner
- Series 7 and Series 66
Professional Affiliations (Past and Present)
- Institute for Certified Divorce Financial Analysts, Fellow
- Academy of Financial Divorce Practitioners, Fellow
- International Association of Divorce Planners
Professional Affiliations (Past and Present)
- Collaborative Law Society
- Financial Planning Association
- International Association of Collaborative Professionals
- Academy of Northern Kentucky Collaborative Professionals
- National Association of Women Business Owners
- Authored Works
Books:
- The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Toolkit (e-book) (Contributing) 2005
- Tips from the Top: Targeted Advice from American’s Top Money Minds, Alpha Books, 2003 (Contributing)
- Financial Custody: You, Your Money and Divorce, Alpha Books, 2002 (Co-Author)
- The Everywoman’s Guide to Confident Investing, Alpha Books, 2001 (Contributing)
Articles:
- “Avoid These Three Mistakes in Divorce”
- “Your Divorce Settlement: Be Careful What You Ask For”
- “Managing the Risks of Divorce”
- “Dispelling Some Myths of Divorce – The Reality of What You Will and Won’t Get”
- “A 50-50 Division: Equal But Is It Fair”
- “Control Your Divorce”
- “Should You Keep the House in Divorce?”
- “The Financial Costs of Going to Court”
- “Why Divorce Gets Dirty”
- “Divorce Settlements and How to Avoid Bad Tax Surprises”
Featured Speaker
- Sterling Women – November 2015
- Virginia CLE – “Retirement Benefits in Divorce: Financial and Practice Strategies” April 2015
- New Transitions Group – “The Financial Issues In Divorce”
- Your Divorce Force Education Course – “Divorce: The Financial Issues”
- Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington County Virginia Adult Continuing Education Programs – “The Financial Reality of Divorce”
- The Women’s Center programs (Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia)
- Regional and national television and radio
- Corporate employee programs including ExxonMobil and the Department of Energy
- National Project GreenPurse conferences; CNN Financial News
Expert Witness Testimony
- Circuit Courts of Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Prince William County, Virginia
- Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Maryland, Circuit Court of Nashville, Tennessee