HomeLocations Guide War Room Resources About Contact

Gray Divorce Financial Specialist

Divorcing in Omaha?
Mutual of Omaha Pensions, Berkshire Benefits, Corporate Stock — Do You Know What's Marital Property?

Corporate pensions, investment portfolios, real estate — Nebraska's equitable distribution requires expertise. This guide shows you exactly what you're entitled to.

Leanne Ozaine, CDFA® & CFP® | Specializing in gray divorce for 50+

Turn Panic Into Power — $97
Important Disclaimer: Leanne Ozaine is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® and CFP® professional who provides financial education and coaching services only. She is not an attorney and does not provide legal advice, legal representation, or legal services. For legal guidance specific to Nebraska divorce law, always consult with a qualified family law attorney licensed in Nebraska.

The Financial Chaos Nobody Prepares You For

You've spent decades building wealth in Omaha — Mutual of Omaha pension benefits, Berkshire stock that's grown for years, corporate 401(k)s, real estate equity. Now divorce threatens to divide everything you've worked for, and suddenly you're drowning in questions you never expected to face.

Here's what keeps Omaha executives awake at 3am: Is your spouse's deferred compensation marital property? What about those Berkshire shares bought before marriage but held in a joint account? The pension that vested during the marriage? Every wrong answer could cost you tens of thousands — or more.

Nebraska's equitable distribution law doesn't mean 50/50. It means "fair" — and who defines fair? Without understanding exactly what you're entitled to, you're negotiating blind while your financial future hangs in the balance.

There's a better way. Before you sign anything, before you agree to any settlement, you need to see the complete picture of what you own, what you're entitled to, and what your post-divorce life will actually look like financially. That's exactly what this guide provides.

Get Clarity Before You Negotiate — $97

Gray Divorce in Omaha: Navigating Financial Services Wealth After 50

If you're over 50 and facing divorce in Omaha, you're navigating something unique: divorce in a city built on sophisticated financial services, insurance, and agricultural wealth. Your divorce likely involves complex investment portfolios, Berkshire Hathaway stock holdings, TD Ameritrade accounts, insurance company benefits, or agricultural assets that most divorce professionals in other cities never encounter.

This is especially overwhelming if you've never personally managed these sophisticated financial assets—and you're certainly not alone. Many of our Omaha clients are navigating decisions about concentrated stock positions, executive compensation packages, and complex retirement benefits for the first time during divorce.

Why Omaha is different: As the home of Berkshire Hathaway, TD Ameritrade, Mutual of Omaha, and significant agricultural wealth, Omaha divorces often involve financial complexity far beyond typical gray divorce cases. From Class A Berkshire shares worth $500,000+ each to multi-generational farmland holdings, the financial stakes are high and the decisions are complicated.

The fear-to-strength progression: Right now, you might be feeling panic about losing decades of Berkshire Hathaway growth, dividing complex brokerage accounts, or protecting agricultural assets. That's normal. But here's what we do together: we turn that panic into power by understanding exactly what your financial picture looks like, how Nebraska's equitable distribution law applies to YOUR specific assets, and building a post-divorce financial plan that gives you confidence and security in Omaha's high-net-worth environment.

The Omaha Financial Services Landscape in Divorce

Understanding Omaha's Unique Financial Ecosystem

Omaha isn't just another Midwest city—it's a global financial services hub that creates unique divorce challenges:

Berkshire Hathaway influence:

TD Ameritrade (now Charles Schwab) headquarters effect:

Mutual of Omaha and insurance industry:

Agricultural wealth connection:

Berkshire Hathaway Stock Division: The Omaha Special Challenge

Dividing Class A Berkshire Shares: The $500,000+ Problem

No other city in America faces this divorce challenge: dividing individual stock shares worth over half a million dollars each.

If you hold Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares (BRK.A), division becomes mathematically challenging:

Example scenario:

Division challenges:

Strategic options:

  1. Unequal share split with offset: One spouse gets 3 shares, the other gets 1 share + other assets to equalize
  2. Convert to Class B and divide: Class A can be converted to Class B shares (1,500 Class B per 1 Class A), making division mathematically easier
  3. Offset with other assets: One spouse keeps all Berkshire stock, the other receives retirement accounts or real estate of equivalent value
  4. Deferred sale agreement: Agree to sell shares over time (3-5 years) and split proceeds to minimize single-year tax hit

For those new to finances: Berkshire Hathaway is unique because Warren Buffett never splits the Class A shares (unlike other companies where a $500 share might split into 5 shares of $100 to make it more accessible). This creates a mathematical puzzle in divorce that requires creative financial planning to solve fairly.

TD Ameritrade / Schwab Account Division

Omaha couples often have sophisticated brokerage accounts that require specialized valuation and division strategies.

Key brokerage account divorce issues in Omaha:

Strategic considerations:

Mutual of Omaha and Insurance Industry Benefits

Executive Compensation Packages

Insurance company executives at Mutual of Omaha and other Omaha insurers often have complex compensation structures:

  • Deferred compensation plans: Non-qualified plans that pay out over years/decades
  • SERPs (Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans): "Golden handcuff" retirement benefits for key executives
  • Stock options and restricted stock: Equity compensation with vesting schedules
  • Performance bonuses: Annual bonuses tied to company performance
  • Retention bonuses: Payments tied to continued employment

Division challenges: Many of these benefits are unvested (you don't fully own them yet), subject to forfeiture if employment ends, or paid out over many years. Valuing and dividing them requires specialized expertise.

Life Insurance Cash Values

Insurance industry employees often hold significant whole life or variable universal life insurance policies with substantial cash values:

  • Cash value accumulation: Policies may have $100,000-$500,000+ in cash value
  • Marital vs. separate property: Premiums paid during marriage create marital property interest
  • Division options: Cash out and split? One spouse keeps policy? Transfer ownership?
  • Tax considerations: Cashing out may trigger taxable income if cash value exceeds premiums paid
  • Ongoing coverage needs: Does ex-spouse need life insurance to protect alimony or child support?

Retiree Health Benefits

Many long-term insurance company employees have retiree health benefits—a valuable but often overlooked divorce asset:

  • Benefit continuation: How does divorce affect retiree health coverage for non-employee spouse?
  • Valuation challenges: What's the present value of retiree health benefits worth?
  • COBRA bridge: Using COBRA to bridge to Medicare eligibility at 65
  • Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO): If you have dependent children, health coverage continuation

Long-Term Care Insurance Considerations

At 50+, long-term care planning becomes critical—and divorce complicates it:

  • Existing LTC policies: If you have LTC insurance, who pays premiums post-divorce?
  • Insurability changes: Post-divorce, can you qualify for new LTC insurance or has health changed?
  • Premium costs: LTC insurance for a single 55-year-old may cost $3,000-6,000+ annually
  • Alternative strategies: Self-insuring, hybrid life/LTC policies, Medicaid planning

Agricultural Wealth and Omaha Metro Real Estate

Farmland Holdings: The Omaha-Ag Connection

Many established Omaha families maintain agricultural land holdings in surrounding counties (Sarpy, Douglas, Washington, Saunders, Cass). These assets create unique divorce challenges:

Key farmland divorce issues for Omaha residents:

Strategic approach: Farmland division requires balancing legal rights, tax efficiency, family dynamics, and long-term financial planning. Many Omaha divorces resolve farmland issues through buyouts, offsetting with other assets, or co-ownership agreements with clear exit strategies.

West Omaha Real Estate: The Marital Home

West Omaha's established neighborhoods (Regency, Aksarben, Dundee, Elkhorn) have seen significant real estate appreciation, making the marital home a major divorce asset:

West Omaha real estate divorce considerations:

Common scenario: One spouse wants to keep the family home for stability and continuity. We help you understand: (1) Can you afford it? (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance on one income), (2) How will you compensate your ex-spouse for their equity?, (3) Does keeping the home serve your long-term financial interests or is it an emotional decision that compromises your security?

Gray Divorce Financial Priorities for Omaha Residents

Post-Divorce Portfolio Diversification

Many Omaha divorces leave one or both spouses dangerously concentrated in single stocks or asset classes.

Post-divorce diversification strategy:

  • Assess concentration risk: What percentage of your net worth is in Berkshire, TD Ameritrade, or other single stocks?
  • Systematic rebalancing: Develop 3-5 year plan to gradually diversify concentrated positions
  • Tax-efficient liquidation: Coordinate sales with tax-loss harvesting, charitable giving, or spreading over multiple years
  • Risk tolerance reassessment: At 50+, post-divorce, can you still tolerate concentrated stock risk?

Healthcare Coverage Strategy

Losing spousal health coverage in Omaha's insurance capital creates both challenges and opportunities.

Omaha-specific healthcare considerations:

  • COBRA continuation: 36 months of employer coverage continuation (expensive but comprehensive)
  • Marketplace (ACA) insurance: Nebraska uses federal marketplace—subsidies based on income
  • Insurance industry connections: Omaha insurance professionals may have access to specialized health plans
  • Medicare at 65: If you're close to 65, bridge strategy to Medicare
  • Retiree benefits: If you have them through Mutual of Omaha or other employer, understand divorce impact

Retirement Income Planning

Omaha's financial services sophistication means many couples have complex retirement assets requiring strategic planning.

Key retirement planning issues:

  • Social Security optimization: Coordinating ex-spousal benefits (if married 10+ years)
  • Pension division: QDROs for defined benefit pensions from Omaha employers
  • 401(k) and IRA division: Tax-efficient strategies for dividing retirement accounts
  • Concentrated stock in retirement accounts: Some IRAs hold concentrated Berkshire positions
  • Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): Planning for mandatory withdrawals starting at 73

Estate Planning Reset

Divorce requires complete overhaul of estate planning documents—critical in high-net-worth Omaha divorces.

Essential estate planning updates post-divorce:

  • Revise will and trusts: Remove ex-spouse as beneficiary and executor
  • Update beneficiary designations: Retirement accounts, life insurance, brokerage accounts, bank accounts
  • Power of attorney updates: Financial and healthcare POAs need new designated agents
  • Healthcare directives: Update living will and healthcare proxy
  • Farmland succession: If you retain agricultural land, update succession plans

Why Choose Fearless Divorce for Omaha Gray Divorce Financial Planning?

As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®) and financial planner, I specialize in helping Omaha clients over 50 navigate the unique financial complexities of divorce in America's financial services capital.

Here's what we do together for Omaha divorces:

  1. Comprehensive asset inventory: We document all assets including Berkshire Hathaway holdings, TD Ameritrade accounts, Mutual of Omaha benefits, agricultural land, retirement accounts, and real estate.
  2. Sophisticated valuation: We work with specialized valuators when needed to accurately value executive compensation packages, concentrated stock positions, farmland, and complex insurance products.
  3. Tax-efficient division strategies: We model different division scenarios to minimize tax consequences and maximize your after-tax net worth.
  4. Post-divorce financial planning: We create clear plans for managing concentrated positions, diversifying investments, ensuring healthcare coverage, and generating retirement income.
  5. Coordination with legal team: We work alongside your Nebraska divorce attorney to ensure financial aspects of your settlement serve your long-term interests.

This isn't just about dividing Berkshire stock or splitting brokerage accounts—it's about building a comprehensive financial foundation for your next chapter with confidence, security, and sophisticated wealth management in Omaha's high-net-worth environment.

See Exactly What Your Post-Divorce Life Looks Like — Before You Sign Anything

The 5-step system that shows you what you'll actually live on, so you stop guessing and start knowing.

Know what you'll actually have to live on

Calculate your real post-divorce income — including spousal support, assets, and earning potential — so you negotiate from facts, not fear.

Never miss a document or account

Document gathering checklists tell you exactly what to bring to your attorney — so you walk in prepared, not panicked.

Know if you can really afford to keep the house

Map out your real expenses as a single person — before you fight for something you can't actually maintain.

Identify everything you own — and what your spouse might be hiding

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 — $97

Your Divorce Is 80% About Money. Who's Protecting Your 80%?

Get the financial clarity you need before you sign anything. Understand your Berkshire holdings, pension benefits, and what you're truly entitled to under Nebraska law.

Turn Panic Into Power — $97 Schedule a Consultation