Divorce: Think Financially, Not Emotionally – Book Review

Divorce: Think Financially, Not Emotionally: What Women Need To Know About Securing Their Financial Future Before, During, and After Divorce

Product Description

Divorce: Think Financially, Not Emotionally® provides women with everything they need to know to establish a secure financial future for themselves and their children before, during and after a financially complicated divorce. The book guides women on how to focus on vital financial matters, offering specific instruction on a number of key issues vital to securing long-term financial security.

A portion of the proceeds from this book is donated to the Bedrock Divorce Fund for Abused Women, Inc., which assists female victims of domestic abuse.

About the Author

Jeffrey A. Landers, CDFA™ is a Divorce Financial Strategist™ and the founder of Bedrock Divorce Advisors, a firm that exclusively advises women throughout the United States before, during and after divorce. He assists women and their divorce attorneys with deciding on the most advantageous way to divide marital assets and enable them to negotiate more favorable settlements, especially when there are complicated financial and tax issues. Jeff is a graduate of Columbia University and studied law at Pace University School of Law.

Book Review

I want to preface my review by saying that I have no personal experience with divorce. My opinions are based solely on the fact that I have been a paralegal in family law and divorce law firms for the past 6 years. I have seen practically every situation you could possibly think of.

This book offers many practical tips for those going through a divorce. It explains some of the legal jargon and definitions you might not be familiar with, such as the difference between marital and separate property. Besides financial tips, the author also touches on alternatives to divorce court, and essential professionals you need to consider when filing for divorce. This author helps you realize the full spectrum of financial issues you might not have even realized you have. It’s possible you don’t even handle the finances in your household, so it is smart to get organized and get all your financial documents in order. This book gives you a realistic perspective on what to expect with alimony (known as maintenance in Colorado).

There is one thing I disagree with. The author says you should close or freeze joint accounts with creditors. You should never alter any account that is considered marital property. This can have a negative impact on how attorneys and the court handling the matter will view you. You need to maintain the “status quo” until all marital property and debt can be divided, either by agreement or by order of the court. The closing of joint accounts can be addressed in separation agreements.

One thing I’m really happy the author discusses is that you should not try to do your divorce by yourself. Each state has a different court system, with different laws, procedures, and personnel. To really know what your options are, you should consult an attorney. I can’t count the number of people who end up going back to court or coming to my law firm for advice because they didn’t use an attorney in the first place. Yes, attorneys can be expensive. But look at it this way: would you rather pay a professional to fix your leaky toilet, or pay a professional to remodel your house after you tried to fix it yourself and the whole house flooded?

You can purchase this book on Amazon for $13.49 or the Kindle edition for $9.99.