Course Details
Author: Brette Sember, J.D.
Brette Sember B.A., J.D., is an editor, author, freelancer, ghostwriter, book coach, content expert, and consultant with 25+ years of experience.
As a former lawyer, Brette specializes in branded legal content for legal information sites, online legal services, legal marketing agencies, and law firms.
She is experienced in editing and enhancing AI-generated content.
In her career she has created and edited content on a wide variety of topics including law, food, travel, health, travel shopping, parenting, divorce, business, books, lifestyle, pregnancy, education, learning skills, women’s and family issues, finance, writing, children’s books, senior issues, entertainment, and more. She has been published in hundreds of magazines and websites including LegalZoom, FindLaw, Forbes Advisor, NextAvenue, Investopedia, American Baby, ePregnancy, Divorce Magazine, Fit Pregnancy, Healthy Women, Paste Magazine, The Mid, Pregnancy, Writer’s Digest, Zester, Salon, Money Geek, Hello Giggles, Avvo Stories, Willing, Mental Floss, and many, many more.
She is an expert for Divorce.com and WomansDivorce.com. She is a contributor for travel sites GoGirlfriend.com and MyItchyTravelFeet.com. She was a columnist for four different regional parenting magazines and was a staff writer for several web sites. She was a legal editor for Forbes Advisor. Brette’s personal essays have appeared on Woman’s Day, Scary Mommy, Purple Clover, and more. She also frequently writes humor lists.
In addition to writing content for specific sites, Brette has worked with agencies such as Marcus Thomas, Elite Lawyer Management, Virtuoso Content, Trellis Marketing, and The Rainmaker Institute to produce custom content for a variety of clients in a variety of industries.
Publication/Revision Date: 3/12/2026
Course Exam Questions (online): 5 (multiple-choice)
Program Delivery Method: Self-Study
Available Formats of Course Text: DPDF or PDF plus printed copy sent in the mail
Course Level, Prerequisites, and Advance Preparation Requirements
| License | Course Level | Prerequisites | Advance Preparation Requirements |
|---|
| CFP® | Overview | None | None |
| CDFA® | Overview | None | None |
* This program is appropriate for professionals at all organizational levels.
Sponsor ID Numbers
CFP Board Sponsor ID: 1008 — Course ID: 298407
Registered with the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Understand why child and spousal support payments are ordered
- Recognize the prerequisites to a child support case
- Be aware of parents' responsibility to support children
- Describe how child support payments can be used
- Explain how child support amounts are determined
- Identify the impact of settlements on child support
- Comprehend imputed income
- Describe add-ons to child support
- Be aware of how college costs impact child support
- Explain when child support ends
- Comprehend how child support can be paid
- Explain how child support impacts income tax
- Identify how child support can be modified
- Understand how child support can be enforced
- Describe why spousal support is ordered
- Identify the reasons for spousal support
- Explain the factors evaluated to determine if spousal support should be ordered
- Identify the factors used to set the amount of spousal support
- Describe how long spousal support lasts
- Comprehend how spousal support can be paid
- Be aware of how spousal support is awarded in same sex marriage
- Explain how spousal support is enforced
- Describe what palimony is
- Comprehend double dipping
- Understand methods for reducing spousal support
- Identify how spousal support can be modified
- Be aware of how child support and spousal support impact each other
