Tech & Finance Specialist
Biotech stock, university retirement, real estate — Massachusetts equitable distribution requires expertise. This guide shows you exactly what you're entitled to.
Leanne Ozaine, CDFA® & CFP® | Specializing in high-asset divorces
Turn Panic Into Power — $97If you're over 50 and facing divorce in Boston metro, custody battles aren't your concern—your children are grown, independent, or attending one of Boston's prestigious universities. Instead, you're navigating the financial complexity of dividing medical practice assets, Harvard or MIT faculty benefits, biotech stock options, Boston real estate, and retirement accounts accumulated over decades—all under Massachusetts' equitable distribution rules.
This is especially overwhelming if you've never personally managed household finances. Perhaps your spouse handled the medical practice at Mass General or Brigham, Harvard/MIT TIAA-CREF accounts, biotech stock from Moderna or Biogen, or Boston-area real estate portfolios while you focused on family and home. Now you're facing questions like:
Your spouse works at Moderna, Biogen, or a Cambridge biotech startup. Or maybe they're Harvard faculty with 25 years of TIAA-CREF contributions. Perhaps they're a Mass General physician with deferred compensation and partnership interests.
Each of these creates compensation packages that look nothing like a regular salary — and most family law attorneys treat them like one anyway.
Stock options have vesting schedules. Deferred compensation has tax triggers. Academic pensions have survivorship elections that affect your income for life. ESPP shares are often overlooked entirely.
When you don't understand these assets — and neither does your attorney — you accept settlements that leave tens of thousands on the table. Or worse, you fight for the wrong things.
The Fearless Divorce Guide breaks down Boston's complex compensation in plain English. You'll understand exactly what you're entitled to — before you negotiate anything.
Because you can't divide what you don't understand. And you can't protect what you can't identify.
Boston is America's healthcare capital. Medical careers create substantial wealth:
Major Boston healthcare employers:
Marital property: Medical practices, hospital retirement accounts, and practice goodwill built during marriage are marital property subject to equitable division.
Cambridge is the global biotech capital. Stock compensation is a major divorce asset:
Major Boston biotech employers:
Stock compensation: Options, RSUs, and private company equity granted during marriage are marital property. "Time rule" calculations apply for options vesting after separation.
Greater Boston has the world's highest concentration of universities. Academic careers create unique assets:
TIAA-CREF and pension accounts accumulated during marriage are marital property.
Boston is a major financial center. Finance careers create wealth:
Bonuses, stock options, deferred compensation, and retirement accounts are marital property if earned during marriage.
Boston metro real estate has appreciated dramatically over 20-30 years:
Typical appreciation:
Equitable distribution: Homes purchased during marriage with marital funds are marital property, typically divided 50/50 after long marriages.
In Boston, we work with clients divorcing after 20, 30, or 40+ years of marriage. Here's what makes gray divorce financially complex:
If your spouse built a medical practice over 25-35 years, it may be worth $500K-$3M+ including:
Massachusetts courts must divide this fairly—typically requiring one spouse to buy out the other or sell the practice.
Harvard, MIT, BU faculty who contributed to TIAA-CREF for 20-30 years may have $800K-$2M+ in retirement accounts. Massachusetts courts divide these equitably (typically 50/50 after long marriages).
Moderna employees who worked through the COVID-19 vaccine development saw massive stock appreciation. Stock grants during marriage are marital property even if they vested after separation.
Boston's cost of living is among America's highest:
Many clients must decide: stay in expensive Boston or relocate to affordable regions?
Many of our Boston clients—particularly spouses who didn't work in healthcare, biotech, or academia—have never personally managed medical practice finances, TIAA-CREF accounts, or stock options.
You're not alone: These assets are complex, but learnable. We help you understand what you have and how to manage it.
While our primary focus is gray divorce (50+ with grown children), some clients have high school or college-age children. Massachusetts child support guidelines apply, but Boston's high incomes can lead to substantial amounts. However, for most 50+ clients, children are independent.
As a Boston resident, your divorce follows Massachusetts equitable distribution law:
Learn more about Massachusetts divorce laws and equitable distribution →
We provide virtual divorce financial planning services throughout Greater Boston, including:
The 5-step system that shows you what you'll actually live on, so you stop guessing and start knowing.
Calculate your real post-divorce income — including spousal support, assets, and earning potential — so you negotiate from facts, not fear.
Document gathering checklists tell you exactly what to bring to your attorney — so you walk in prepared, not panicked.
Map out your real expenses as a single person — before you fight for something you can't actually maintain.
The asset identification system helps you find accounts and property you might not even know exist.
22-page guide + video tutorials + checklists + templates
$97
Instant access. 100% money-back guarantee.
Get the Clarity You Need — $97Whether you've managed healthcare practice finances for years or you're learning about TIAA-CREF for the first time, we provide the education and guidance you need.
Get the Fearless Divorce Guide Schedule a Strategy Session