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Alice Newhall Ahearn

Senior Associate

202-466-8960
aahearn@ftlf.com

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Alice Newhall Ahearn guides family law clients through one of the most difficult times in their lives to emerge optimistic about the future. She excels at solving contentious and complex child custody problems, including relocation cases. Alice is also adept at resolving divorces with complicated financial issues, including business and stock valuations, the division of marital interest in a business, and spousal support. Her clients include professionals, physicians, accountants, bankers, business owners, lawyers and their spouses.

Alice understands how emotional divorce and post-divorce issues can be, and helps clients set realistic and achievable goals—both in regard to financial assets and long-term co-parenting arrangements.  She counsels her clients about how to become financially educated and confident about managing their own finances.

Alice is a 2009 cum laude graduate of the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. While in law school, Alice served as President of the Family Law Society, a member of the Client Counseling and Negotiation Board, as well as interned with the Family Law Clinic at the National Center for Family Law. Alice earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in History and Sociology from Tulane University in 2006.

Serving in the firm’s Virginia office, Alice is a member of the Virginia State Bar; the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association; the Fairfax County Bar Association, including the Young Lawyer’s Section and the Family Law Section; the Fairfax County CLE Court Committee; the Northern Virginia Women’s Attorney Association; the Tulane University Alumni Association; the Kappa Alpha Theta Alumni Association; and the University of Richmond School of Law Alumni Association.

Honors/Awards

  • Selected to the Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2019
  • Selected to the Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2019

Introduction

Alice Newhall Ahearn guides family law clients through one of the most difficult times in their lives to emerge optimistic about the future. She excels at solving contentious and complex child custody problems, including relocation cases. Alice is also adept at resolving divorces with complicated financial issues, including business and stock valuations, the division of marital interest in a business, and spousal support. Her clients include professionals, physicians, accountants, bankers, business owners, lawyers and their spouses.

Alice understands how emotional divorce and post-divorce issues can be, and helps clients set realistic and achievable goals—both in regard to financial assets and long-term co-parenting arrangements.  She counsels her clients about how to become financially educated and confident about managing their own finances.

Alice is a 2009 cum laude graduate of the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. While in law school, Alice served as President of the Family Law Society, a member of the Client Counseling and Negotiation Board, as well as interned with the Family Law Clinic at the National Center for Family Law. Alice earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in History and Sociology from Tulane University in 2006.

Serving in the firm’s Virginia office, Alice is a member of the Virginia State Bar; the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association; the Fairfax County Bar Association, including the Young Lawyer’s Section and the Family Law Section; the Fairfax County CLE Court Committee; the Northern Virginia Women’s Attorney Association; the Tulane University Alumni Association; the Kappa Alpha Theta Alumni Association; and the University of Richmond School of Law Alumni Association.

Honors/Awards

  • Selected to the Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2019
  • Selected to the Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2019

Videos

How to Achieve Financial Independence After Your Divorce

Posted By: Alice Newhall Ahearn

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How to Achieve Financial Independence After Divorce

Alice Ahearn – Senior Associate

Virginia Family Lawyer, Alice Ahearn provides insight into how to achieve financial security after divorce.

One of the big questions that non-wage-earning spouses have in divorce is whether or not they should go back to work. When I am discussing whether or not to go back to work with clients, it’s frequently in reference to whether or not they’re going to receive spousal support. Going back to work can impact spousal support, however, I generally tend to tell people that it’s better to go back to work than to avoid work simply in the effort to obtain more spousal support. The pros of going back to work are first of all it’s difficult to maintain two households on the same income that use to maintain one. Getting a job and entering the work force allows you to do the following:

  • Count on an income
  • Not be reliant on your spousal support in order to pay your bills
  • Do long-term planning such as save for your own retirement

I had a client several years ago who was able to increase her sense of financial independence by negotiating a part-time position into a full-time employment. For that particular client, going back to work was very empowering and gave her a sense of financial security and ability to take care of herself and her family. There are several things that clients can do to start building their financial independence after divorce. The first one is to become more financially knowledgeable. Know your mortgage, know your utility bills, and know what money is going out every month. This helps you make a budget plan for that month and start thinking about long-term planning. Think about the following:

  • Where do you want to be in 10 years?
  • What are your goals?
  • Where do you see yourself and how will you get there?

I like to have practical conversations with my clients about what the reality of the divorce is going to cost and not spending a fortune simply to tell your story to a judge. I think spending several hundred thousand dollars to get there is not necessarily the best end result. My goal for my clients is that they achieve the best possible outcome within the reality of the situation and walk away with a true sense of financial security.

Practices

  • Family Law

Education

  • T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, 2009 J.D.
  • Tulane University, 2006 B.A.

Bar/Court Admissions

  • Virginia
  • Washington, DC

Publications / Blog Posts

  • Will My Variable Income Be a Problem in My Divorce?
    November 22, 2019
  • Unpacking Your Depression in Your Divorce
    October 24, 2019
  • Can My Spouse Use My Addiction Against Me?
    August 16, 2019
  • The Secret to Winning in Divorce
    March 21, 2019
All Articles by this Attorney

Professional Memberships

  • Fairfax County Bar Association, Young Lawyer’s Section and Family Law Section
  • Kappa Alpha Theta Alumni Association
  • Northern Virginia Women’s Attorney Association
  • Tulane University Alumni Association
  • University of Richmond School of Law Alumni Association
  • Virginia State Bar, Member
  • Virginia Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • D.C. Bar Association
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