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): 34 (multiple-choice)
Program Delivery Method: Self-Study
Available Formats of Course Text: Downloadable PDF, Printed/Mailed
Course Level, Prerequisites, and Advance Preparation Requirements
| License | Course Level | Prerequisites | Advance Preparation Requirements |
|---|
| CDFA® | Overview | None | None |
* This program is appropriate for professionals at all organizational levels.
Sponsor ID Numbers
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:
Chapter One - Getting And Staying Organized
- Manage the complex emotions involved in divorce
- Understand the importance of an organizational system for divorce documents
- Describe how organization saves money in a divorce
- Explain the benefits of a master calendar
- Comprehend the organizational methods available to clients for documents
Chapter Two - Protecting Yourself
- Specify the ways clients can protect financial assets at the beginning of a divorce
- Identify the ways clients can protect their home at the outset of a divorce
- Understand the methods which clients can use to protect digital assets at the start of a divorce
- Comprehend the documents clients need to change once they begin a divorce
Chapter Three - Working With An Attorney And Other Professionals
- Understand the process clients should use to choose a divorce attorney
- Identify what divorce attorneys need from their clients
- Describe how clients should interact with their divorce lawyer
- Comprehend how clients should organize information from professionals
- Explain how to afford attorney bills
- Recognize other professionals that may be involved in a divorce
Chapter Four - Ways To End Your Marriage
- Explain what residency is for a divorce
- Understand some of the grounds for divorce
- Describe the difference between annulment and divorce
- Comprehend the difference between separation and divorce
- Identify common law marriage
Chapter Five - Step-By-Step Through Your Divorce
- Understand the initial papers required in a divorce
- Comprehend what the discovery process is
- Identify terms used in a divorce
- Recognize court personnel involved in a divorce
Chapter Six - Settlement Options
- Explain what divorce mediation is
- Describe the arbitration process
- Understand collaborative law
- Recognize the role of settlements
Chapter Seven - Gathering Household And Personal Documents
- Identify documents clients need to gather
- Understand what clients should do when they cannot access some documents
- Comprehend how client should organize documents
- Explain how value of assets is determined
Chapter Eight - Documenting Your Income And Living Expenses
- Specify how clients should document monthly expenses
- Understand how to create a monthly budget
- Explain how to document monthly income
- Identify how to document irregular expenses
Chapter Nine - Large Assets
- Comprehend the difference between separate and marital property
- Explain nonconcrete assets
- Describe how large assets are divided in a divorce
- Recognize how to find hidden assets
- Identify the types of large assets involved in a divorce
Chapter Ten - Documenting Debts
- Understand separate and marital debts
- Explain how clients should organize their debts
- Identify the types of debt involved in a divorce
Chapter Eleven - Reaching Settlements And Dividing Property
- Explain how a client should come to a settlement in a divorce
- Identify how to divide household items
- Describe how pets are handled by a divorce court
- Specify how to appraise items in a divorce
- Comprehend how a client should divide disputed property
Chapter Twelve - Child Support
- Recognize the purpose of child support
- Explain how child support is calculated
- Comprehend the other items that can be included in child support
- Describe how child support can be paid
- Specify how to track child support payments
- Identify how child support can be adjusted
Chapter Thirteen - Alimony
- Explain how alimony is awarded
- Describe how alimony is treated under tax law
- Specify how health insurance is managed by a divorce
- Identify how to track alimony payments
Chapter Fourteen - Custody And Visitation
- Describe what temporary custody is
- Explain how custody is determined
- Recognize the evidence a client should gather for a custody case
- Specify how to create an accurate visitation record
- Understand shared custody
- Comprehend how to monitor children's responses to visitation
Chapter Fifteen - Witnesses And Evidence
- Explain why witnesses are needed in a divorce
- Identify what hearsay is
- Understand the types of witnesses related to alimony
- Recognize the types of witnesses related to child support
- Comprehend the types of witnesses related to property and debt division
- Understand what physical evidence is
Chapter Sixteen - Custody Trials
- Understand how a client can document the past for a custody trial
- Comprehend how a client can document their own parenting abilities
- Explain the role of parenting classes
- Describe what a childcare checklist is
Chapter Seventeen - It is All Over! Now What?
- Identify how a client can change their name after divorce
- Explain how insurance needs to be updated after divorce
- Recognize how to divide assets after a divorce
- Specify the impact of a divorce on a lease
- Comprehend how a client should handle attorney bills
- Describe the options for tax filings after a divorce
- Understand the documentation that is necessary after a divorce is finished
