Plan for Divorce: Your Next Chapter

Host Brooke Benson developed this show and its accompanying workbook to be the resources she wishes she'd had when she divorced in 2006. So many things have changed since then! One of the most useful is the adaptation of technology to child custody procedures. Guest Daryl Weinman, a family lawyer in Austin, TX, will share an overview of some of the most popular child custody plans available to divorcing parents. In her almost 30 years of Board Certified Family Law experience, Ms. Weinman has been active with the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Family Law sections of the State Bar of Texas, The American Academy of Certified Financial Litigators, The National Association of Divorce Professionals, and the Texas Family Law Foundation. Guest Kevin Dorsey is Manager of Professional Relationships at Our Family Wizard, a Minnesota-based technology application designed to document the exchange of children between divorcing or divorced parents. He currently serves as president of Texas AFCC, an interdisciplinary association of family law judges, attorneys, mediators, evaluators, court administrators, and others who work on resolving family conflict and protecting the interests of families and children. If you are worried about your children, grandchildren, or other beloved kiddos in the context of a pending or future breakup, you won't want to miss this important information.

Getting divorced while you are still in your earning years is one thing ... ending your marriage in retirement can add financial woes and focus attention on the division of marital assets. How will you know you have enough money to last the rest of your life following a divorce? Silver Divorce is a proven phenomenon and older Americans make up the majority of divorcing couples in 2023. Listeners had questions for previous guest Mary Jo Lafaye, Home Equity Retirement Specialist, so she is back on this episode! Joining her are Peter Neuwirth, an expert in benefit plans and long-term financial risk; and Barry Sacks, PhD, JD, a Harvard-trained Certified Specialist in Taxation Law (California Board of Legal Specialization). If you or someone you know is over age 55 and thinking of ending a marriage, you won't want to miss this relevant, practical information to minimize debt and tax liability.

You've never heard of a divorce coach? Marriage is not a game. Neither is divorce - although the divorce process does involve strategy and could pull a few ideas from the sports world. Forming a team to help you through a divorce is actually a great idea. It makes sense you would come up with a game plan. Hiring a coach to motivate and guide the team members to top performance can make a huge difference in how you (and your children) experience personal breakup. Sharri Freedman has the experience to coach anyone's Dream Team. A Certified Divorce Coach (CDC) and co-parenting expert, Sharri also has 24 years of experience working in family law. She formed Potomac Coaching to change the way families experience divorce. She uses her legal wisdom, divorce coaching and mindset tools to empower women and men to create a plan, improve communication and begin to heal. Hear her share some best practices for expressing yourself and co-parenting with your ex. Oona Metz returns to the show to offer insight into the process. A licensed social worker and divorce support group leader, Oona knows the roller coaster of emotions people experience during a breakup. In her groups, she helps participants gain clarity, strengthen connections to other people, and take greater control in making future decisions. Tune in to hear these two thought leaders share key concepts in forming your team.

The overall goal of this show is to open listeners' minds to life possibilities after a breakup or divorce. This might mean more to parents struggling with addiction than it does to people working through an amicable parting of ways. Sometimes a divorce may be the wake-up call that drives a serious sobriety effort. Often it is the desire to remain connected to one's children that leads a parent to rehab for drug and alcohol dependence. SoberLink's hand-held alcohol-monitoring device is an FDA-approved method of tracking and reporting alcohol use prior to child exchange in divorce cases. Learn more about this remarkable technology from SoberLink's national sales manager, Mike Fonseca. Guest Robert Epstein will then discuss his personal story with addiction from a very unique perspective: Robert is a family lawyer in private practice. In 2023, US News & World Report listed Epstein Family Law PC in the top category of Best Law Firms in the United States. Don't miss Mr. Epstein's powerful insight drawn from family law work and his own painful experiences.

This show is all about how to conceptualize life after divorce. Today's guest, Carol Cohn, is the embodiment of this idea. Her current exhibit, Reflections, hanging in 73 See Gallery, Montclair, NJ, grew out of a collection of work she called The Art of Divorce. I started it all by examining the now and trying to understand the world around me, she says. In this episode, Carol talks about her Collaborative Divorce, ending a marriage with considerations for a special-needs child, and how her art illustrates the various parts of her personal process. Don't miss this honest conversation with a remarkable woman, artist, and mother.

Many couples who are in business together dread breaking up for both personal AND business reasons. How will the business get divided up? Who determines what it's worth? What if the company really is mine but I started it during the marriage? These concerns are legitimate and anxiety-inducing. As the founder and Chief Executive Officer of BWA Valuations, Brian Walters brings a wealth of experience and education to every engagement in which the value of a business needs to be determined. He can work in a collaborative fashion with both sides of a dispute, offering an unbiased opinion as to the value of the business interests. Sarah Goodman is an accomplished Mergers & Acquisitions advisor and founder of Eminence M&A Strategies, where she provides personalized guidance to lower-market business owners seeking to exit their companies with revenues between $5MM and $50MM. In today's episode, Brian and Sarah will talk about marital asset division, business interest valuation related to partner buyout/buy-in, estate planning/gifting considerations, Family Limited Partnership (FLP) interest valuation, and “sanity check” valuations related to buying or selling business interests. Host Brooke Benson will moderate this information-packed hour of news you can use!

It's estimated that more than 90% of American divorce cases settle prior to court. So what happens 10% of the time? This episode will explore some of the worst-case scenarios. Often oppositional personality types indulge in worsening behavior once it's clear the marriage is over. Sometimes that person starts abusing the other party. Terms like post-separation abuse, parental alienation claims, narcissistic behavior, and high conflict negotiation skills have entered mainstream conversation as divorce professionals define and discuss what happens when the wheels really come off. Hear two experts in the field talk case studies from their client lists. Learn how they are working to shine a light on the very darkest side of human nature. Consider their tips for avoiding conflict before it can take hold!

Hello from the other side! Previous episodes have discussed planning for a breakup, self-care, child custody and real estate. This episode pulls back the curtain on the service providers who work with people experiencing divorce. Did you know a digital forensics expert can recover data from Venmo? She can also find hidden assets, evidence of abuse and much, much more. Today we will hear from Grace Rubio, owner and founder of Rubio Digital Forensics. Even if your soon-to-be ex thinks a device is outmoded or non-functional, Grace's team may be able to recover data. Jaclyn Roberson is a family lawyer in private practice. She will provide a master class in how to save money in your divorce. If you are thinking, I know about downloadable forms, that's not what this is about. Jaclyn will help listeners maximize the relationship between client and attorney to 1) ensure best outcomes and 2) save you money.

Hear from two accomplished women on two trending topics: silver divorce (many people wait until late in life to end a marriage or partnership) and for younger couples: mistakes people make in co-parenting after the divorce is final. Mary Jo Lafaye is a Home Equity Retirement Specialist with Mutual of Omaha Mortgage. She works closely with her two colleagues at Silver Divorce Consulting: an actuary who consults on tax implications of divorce and a tax lawyer in her home state of California. Together they have guided thousands of senior homeowners through the dissolution of their unions. Hannah Hembree Bell is a family lawyer in private practice. She is dedicated to helping people navigate tough family matters with genuine care and compassion. She has three young children and a blended family herself. Both Mary Jo and Hannah have personal experience with these timely topics.

Host Brooke Benson often hears from her divorce lending clients, It's hard to know who to trust. In this episode, we will hear from Bridget Potterton, a Realtor in the top 1% of agents in San Diego for production. Bridget is a Certified Divorce Real Estate expert (CDRE) and a Real Estate Divorce Specialist (REDS). She will discuss all the variables in how to treat real estate in divorce - based on more than 20 years of experience in residential real estate. Guest Whitney Ramirez has lived it! Coincidentally also a former real estate professional (she is a former mortgage loan originator), Whitney will share some of her personal experience with separation and divorce, including issues that arise with a medically-challenged child. Her three sons are thriving and the one with medical challenges is now in college and happily employed. Don't miss these information-packed discussions.

How much is the house worth? is a common question when a couple divorces or breaks up. Often times the departing partner thinks the house is worth more than it is, sometimes one person wants to keep the house, sometimes one party tries to force a sale. There are lots of variables in real estate transactions and even a seasoned homeowner can get confused, frustrated, and anxious. Fortunately, professionals who specialize in real estate and home finance can also have sub-specialties in divorce. In this episode of Plan for Divorce, a Certified Divorce Real Estate Expert (CDRE) and the founder of a website devoted to this topic, https://www.divorcelendinghq.com, will tell our host what they do and why it's important to consult a professional with experience in divorce-related transactions. Often times a home is a couple's largest asset. This broadcast offers crucial information on how to treat it in the context of a breakup.

Host Brooke Benson will explore self-care and self-defense in the first ever episode of Plan for Divorce: Your Next Chapter. If you've never been through a divorce, you don't get it. The person who is supposed to put you above all others is now your adversary. Guest Oona Metz, a therapist in Boston, works with women navigating divorce in her private practice. Her recent article, Why Don't We Talk - Really Talk - About Divorce, was picked up by NPR and recognized by the Aspen Institute. Guest Angel Butler-Diamant is the founder of Red Thread Divorce Consulting, headquartered in Houston. She specializes in high conflict divorce consulting and assists clients experiencing post-separation abuse. Don't miss the chance to hear from two well respected leaders in the field ... and the Plan for Divorce workbook will also be given away to five listeners.