MEET THE FOUNDER
Gabriella E. Martinelli
CDFA® · CDS® · NCMP®
Founder, Ever After Wealth® - Private Divorce Financial Strategist - Divorce Mediator
I do not react to divorce — I strategize the wealth, the decisions, and the future at stake.
MY STORY
Why I do This Work
I spent my first fifteen years working inside elite family law firms. Not as an attorney — as the person who understood the money.
I watched brilliant lawyers build strong legal cases while their clients quietly agreed to settlements they did not fully understand. I watched business owners sign away equity they did not realize was on the table. I watched physicians accept support calculations based on income numbers that had never been properly traced.
And I watched the most analytical, disciplined professionals I had ever met make decisions driven by fear, anger, and exhaustion — because no one in the room was focused on translating the financial complexity into something they could actually use.
Even the most disciplined professionals are not immune to the emotional intensity of divorce. Anger accelerates decisions. Fear narrows perspective. Fatigue makes an unfair proposal feel "good enough."
That is why I founded Ever After Wealth®. I saw a gap that no one was filling. High-earning professionals had exceptional legal counsel, but they lacked a dedicated financial strategist who understood both the structural mathematics of a settlement and the human dynamics that influence it.
My work sits at the intersection where financial strategy meets emotional reality. Financial expertise without emotional awareness is incomplete. Emotional awareness without financial precision is dangerous. True strategic clarity requires both.
Twenty-two years later, that is still what drives every engagement — making sure my clients understand what they have, what they are entitled to, and what every decision actually means for their financial future.
WHAT I HAVE SEEN
The Blind Spots That Cost the Most
In twenty-two years, I have seen the same patterns repeat — not because the professionals involved are careless, but because the system was not designed for this level of financial complexity.
These are not hypotheticals. They are the situations that walk into my office every month. And they are preventable.
Medical practices mischaracterized through inflated goodwill assumptions that treated personal reputation as a divisible asset — in states where it should have been protected.
Business "double dipping" all income used to calculate business value, then the same numbers turned around to calculate support. Or the reverse: expenses paid by the business excluded from the valuation but added to the supporting spouse's personal lifestyle — counted on both sides of the equation.
Settlements accepted under emotional pressure that looked "fair enough" in the moment but created permanent financial consequences that surfaced years later.
$480,000 in undisclosed accounts that both attorneys missed — because no one on the team was conducting a forensic-level financial review.
THE PATH
Built From the Inside Out
Most divorce financial professionals come from financial planning. Gabriella came from the trenches.
She spent her first fifteen years embedded inside elite family law firms — not as an attorney, but as the person who understood the money. She learned how judges evaluate assets, how opposing counsel manipulates valuations, and how the gap between legal strategy and financial reality costs clients millions. That insider perspective shaped everything that followed.
When she moved into institutional finance at Merrill Lynch, it was a deliberate pivot — earning financial licenses and building the investment-side expertise that most divorce professionals lack. She studied business administration and statistics at the Universidad de la República in Uruguay before pursuing advanced business analysis at Villanova University. The result: a rare professional who speaks both the language of the courtroom and the language of the balance sheet.
Fifteen years inside family law firms. Institutional finance at Merrill Lynch. A foundation in statistics and business analysis. Then the firm she wished had existed all along.
In 2021, she founded Ever After Wealth® — a strategy-only, conflict-free practice built for the cases that generalists cannot handle. Business owners. Physicians. Complex compensation. Significant marital estates. The kind of work where precision is not optional and emotional clarity is as critical as financial accuracy.
Today, she also offers financially structured mediation for high-net-worth couples — bringing the same data-first, strategy-forward approach to a process that too often begins with emotion and ends with regret.
CREDENTIALS
Professional Designations
CDFA®
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst
Specialized expertise in analyzing financial implications of divorce, including asset division, tax consequences, and long-term settlement sustainability.
CDS®
Certified Divorce Specialist
Specialized training in communication and client-session skills for divorce professionals — integrating legal, financial, and emotional dimensions into how clients are guided through the process.
NCMP®
Nationally Certified Mediation Professional
Qualified to lead financially structured divorce mediations, guiding both parties toward settlements built on data rather than emotion.
BEYOND CLIENT WORK
Industry Leadership
IN PROGRESS
Accredited Financial Counselor® (AFC®)
Currently pursuing the AFC® designation to deepen expertise in the behavioral and financial psychology dimensions of complex divorce.
WHAT OTHERS SAY
Trusted by Attorneys and Professionals
"Gabriella combines her years of experience and knowledge to assist her clients through one of the most challenging times in their lives. Her dedication and commitment provide them stability to empower them into their next chapter. Working with Gabriella is a great investment in your future."
Amanda Cannavo
Divorce Attorney
"I can tell you from personal experience that Gabriella has the tools, skills, character, and passion necessary to help anyone navigate the financial unknown during separation and/or divorce. I would not hesitate to refer them straight to Ever After Wealth's trusted hands."
Andrea Fink
Divorce Attorney
ON A PERSONAL NOTE
Beyond the Work
I am based in North Carolina with a presence on the West Coast, and I work with clients in states across the country. I intentionally keep my client roster small — because the kind of work I do requires depth, not volume.
Every client gets my direct attention. Not a junior analyst. Not a team of associates. Me. That is a deliberate choice, and it is one I will not compromise on.
When I am not deep in settlement strategy, you will find me studying the behavioral side of financial decision-making — which is increasingly where I believe the most important work in this field needs to happen.
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
Professional Community
Active member of the organizations that set the standard in divorce financial planning, financial counseling, and executive leadership.
IDFA
Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
Governing body for the CDFA® designation
AFCPE
Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education
Home of the AFC® credential
V
Vistage Worldwide
Peer advisory for CEOs and senior executives