The Divorce Organizer & Planner [Paperback]

Brette Sember (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2004

This one-of-a-kind workbook streamlines the divorce process

This completely unique guide helps anyone —even someone enduring a not-so-easy split—create a complete, accessible record of absolutely everything needed to confidently tackle, organize, and prepare for the legal, emotional, and financial aspects of divorce. Family attorney Brette McWhorter Sember’s The Divorce Planner & Organizer includes:

• Suggestions for selecting an attorney and getting the most legal help for the dollar
• Tips on how to gather and organize information for easy access during legal proceedings
• Advice on required documentation for homes, cars, investments, bank accounts, debts, insurance, and household expenses
• A tracker to record alimony, child support payments, and children’s medical, educational, and athletic expenses
• A personal property inventory and wish list, a budget form, and fill-in contact information lists

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Everything you need to take charge of your divorce and get what you deserve

Divorce is overwhelming enough without having to deal with the financial, personal, and legal paperwork. When you are organized, you feel more confident, and you are more likely to get what you want. The Divorce Organizer and Planner is your guide to managing your divorce and getting what you want--while keeping your legal expenses to a minimum. Written by a family attorney with years of experience helping people navigate the divorce process, this book empowers you with the knowledge and tools you need to take control of your divorce.

The Divorce Organizer and Planner arms you with dozens of worksheets, logs, checklists, and expert advice and explanations that will help you create a complete, accessible record of absolutely everything you'll need to confidently tackle the legal, emotional, and financial aspects of divorce.

You'll discover how to:

• Find and work with an attorney who's right for you
• Learn how to choose and work with a mediator
• Gather and organize important information on property, investments, accounts, debts, insurance, and household expenses
• Keep clear records of alimony, child support, and children's expenses
• Develop a personal property inventory, a budget, and a wish list for property division
• Decide what you want and what you need from the marital assets
• Successfully negotiate with your spouse and keep stress to a minimum
• Get the biggest bang for your legal buck

Providing everything you need to know to handle your divorce in a careful way, The Divorce Organizer and Planner will make a huge difference in the way you feel, the expenses you incur, and what you walk away with in the end.

Brette McWhorter Sember is a former matrimonial attorney and an experienced divorce and family mediator. A prolific self-help author specializing in making the law accessible to everyone, she has written fourteen books as well as numerous articles appearing in more than 140 publications, including Divorce magazine, and at MyCounsel.com and Lawyers.com.

About the Author

Brette McWhorter Sember (Buffalo, NY) is a former matrimonial attorney, an author, and a trained and experienced divorce and family mediator.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (May 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071429611
• ISBN-13: 978-0071429610
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Law > Family & Health Law > Domestic Relations
  • #43 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Relationships > Divorce
  • #55 in Books > Law > Administrative Law

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that helps organize for life, November 23, 2006

By 

Serendipity "Sandy" (Georgetown, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Divorce Organizer & Planner (Paperback)

My husband of 36 years asked for a divorce after informing me of a 3-week affair with a woman 4 years older who'd already had quadruple bypass surgery. Go figure! Shock doesn't come close to describing my state.

However, I was not so shocked that common sense didn't kick in -- two days later I ordered several books on Divorce, including Ms. Sember's: I needed to protect what I could for MY future.

The Divorce Organizer & Planner came in good stead. With tears here and there, I worked those sections that were relevant to me (I didn't need to consider child custody/support issues) and collected documents I would need to go through the divorce process. While I had a consultation with a lawyer to make sure I was collecting the info I'd need (and found out the Workbook was right on target!), I did not retain her right away -- nor did my husband seek legal advice.

4 months after "the news," my husband was killed in a freak accident.

Because I'd "done my homework" with the assistance of the Organizer & Planner, I had all the documents and papers necessary to handle the financial and legal affairs that accompany a death: Birth Certificates, Social Security Cards, and Drivers Licenses for BOTH of us, Marriage Certificate, Life Insurance policies, Financial accounts, Lists of assets and liabilities, etc., etc., etc. I was able to obtain benefits, complete probate, and process life insurance claims forthrightly because all the information was readily at hand.

Ms. Sember's book is really a must have for everyone, those contemplating a divorce or not. I really should make it a point to write her a letter and let her know how very helpful she was at a very difficult time in my life.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nuts & Bolts Advice for the Divorcing, September 26, 2004

By 

Amy B. Crane - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Divorce Organizer & Planner (Paperback)

Divorce ranks as one of the most stressful events you can go through in a lifetime, even when it's fairly amicable, and many aren't. Even though your emotions are in turmoil, you have to be as objective as possible when going through a divorce to ensure that you (and your kids, if you have any) get a fair deal.

Brette McWhorter Sember's book not only goes over every aspect involved in divorce, but provides practical, useful worksheets to help you stay organized. She provides tips on gathering, organizing and analyzing financial, household and personal documents and walks you through the divorce process. The book lays out the different options for working with lawyers, mediators and what happens in court.

Anyone involved in a divorce would do well to order this book as soon as the decision is made to divorce.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nifty Guide in a Difficult Time, October 8, 2004

By 

Sheri Rehwoldt - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Divorce Organizer & Planner (Paperback)

Brette McWhorter Sember's "Divorce Organizer Planner" is quite the useful guide. Not only has she filled it with many helpful forms, she has sprinkled tips throughout the guide's 17 chapters.

Readers can read the book front to back, or skip to particular sections they need, be they protection issues, settlement options, custody matters, or even how to get the divorce rolling. The appendix, too, offers helpful information. There, Sember lists more than 30 websites, as well as a full reading list for adults and children.

I particularly think Sember's tip of only venting to friends and family, not a lawyer, is a gentle reminder that divorce is, as far as the law is concerned, a business transaction. To deal with the emotional aspects of divorce, Sember wisely directs readers to consider mediation, which has a high chance of producing the best long-term results.