Doris Roper: The experience that led to her passion

In 1988, living in South Africa, Doris was homeless and penniless. She had just gone through a very difficult divorce (without a final settlement) from a husband who was behaving in what psychologists called a psychopathic manner. He physically pushed and locked her out of their home and Jewelry store. Doris was a jewelry designer and goldsmith and had started the business 6 years earlier.

So there she was, out on the street with a five and a 3-year old, no home, no business, no money and no income!

Fortunately, she had in her possession the wedding rings that she had planned to deliver to a young couple who worked at a Christian holiday resort. They spoke to their manager who agreed to let Doris and her children stay in one of their units while she tried to sort out her life.

For the next two months, she had to get legal help and court orders to try to get her ex-husband to agree to a settlement. The store remained closed and the unpaid bills continued to grow. Since there was a fairly substantial amount of debt that needed to be repaid, there was a danger that if a satisfactory settlement could not be reached, the house and business would be auctioned. As the assets would not fetch nearly enough to cover the debts if auctioned, both Doris and her ex-husband would end up with a large amount of debt and no assets whatsoever. He agreed that if she could pay off the large bank overdraft and take over the other debt, she could keep the house and business.

In the midst of this very anxious and stressful period, something happened (which Doris considers a miracle and is a story in itself) that enabled her to borrow enough money to pay off the overdraft. She moved back into the house, re-opened the business and started rebuilding her life with her children.

Doris was able to bounce back fairly quickly because up until then she had taught herself to be smart with money management and finances. Her parents had lacked these skills so had been unable to teach her. In fact her father went bankrupt and committed suicide at the age of 47, which left her mother a young widow.

After successfully running and growing her business for the next 13 years while raising her children, Doris decided it was time for a change. She sold everything and left South Africa to travel. She visited Austria, the country of her birth, Hungary (her mother’s birthplace), England and the USA. It was during her travels in the States that she met her wonderful husband, Arlen and settled down in Carlsbad, CA.

As a blended family, Doris and Arlen have four children and three grandsons. Her hobbies include tennis, traveling, reading, Bridge and educating.

Doris Roper: A Women’s Financial Advisor

Making the decision to become a financial advisor and planner came very easily to Doris. With her own personal success in investing and managing finances during her first career as a successful business-owner, it felt like a natural fit.

As soon as possible, Doris started to focus her practice on the area where her true passion lay, namely working with women to build a solid financial foundation, particularly those who were going through or had been through a financial transition such as divorce, widowhood, career change or retirement.

In doing her research and interviewing her female clients, friends, acquaintances, and professionals such as therapists and family law attorneys, she confirmed what she suspected - that a large percentage of women did not feel competent and smart when it came to managing finances and investments.

Their lack of knowledge resulted in feelings of anxiety, fear and uncertainty. Much of this came from childhood conditioning and the belief that it was mainly a man’s job. These limiting beliefs have prevented countless women from achieving their dreams and goals.
As a result of her findings and understanding the issues women faced from her own personal experience, Doris wanted to create a one-stop resource for women dealing with most types of transition to help and motivate them to master life, finances, gain balance and achieve success in an educational and supportive environment.

Women realize that wonderful things can happen when they get smart about money!

Doris Roper is a senior partner of Chapman, Roper & Breslin, LLC, a wealth management firm in Carmel Valley, CA and owner of Roper Financial Planning - A Registered Investment Advisor.

She is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, Certified Senior Advisor, divorce mediator, LPL Registered Principal and holds the FINRA Series 7, 63, 66 and 24 licenses with LPL Financial as well as Life, Disability, Long-Term Care and Variable Insurance Licenses with the States of California and Florida.

Over the years, Doris has mentored people dealing with emotional and financial issues and served as a Financial Freedom Coach through her church.