DIY Divorce in Florida

Travel Planning for Life

Today's post is from Carolyn Ellis, creator of the Thrive After Divorce program.

Traveling to a new place brings out the explorer spirit of curiosity in us. But what would life be like if we treated every day as one big adventure? To thrive in life means to bring a sense of wonder and excitement to each day, and not just for those few weeks when we may travel to some new destination. We can adapt some of the strategies we use when planning a trip in our daily life as well.

Set a Course and Get Prepared

In real life, many of us don’t have a clear plan or itinerary for where we want to go. Without a clear destination in mind, it’s no wonder sometimes people feel like life is passing them by.

The first step is to decide where you want to go… What itinerary are you planning for your life? Once you consciously choose your destination, you get prepared. You figure out how to get there, what kind of currency and immunizations you’ll need, and what kind of clothing you need to bring.

Create an Itinerary

In our day-to-day lives, we tend to not give our plans the kind of persistent and consistent action needed to realize the results we want. In terms of preparation, we leave ourselves ill-informed or under-resourced to tackle the plans we do have.

Once the vacation destination has been selected, most of us will come up with at least a rough game plan or itinerary. What do you want to see and experience? How long will you want to stay there?

Pack along our Curiosity

Curiosity broadens our horizons, so be sure to bring it with you. An important ingredient of any adventure is a strong sense of curiosity. Pretend you are an explorer, setting off to find out something new and wondrous. Be open and present.

It’s not Personal

When you travel, you just know that unexpected things are bound to happen. The hotel you booked is a dive. The only day you have to visit that world-famous museum is the one day of the year it’s closed.

Not Sure If You've Got What It Takes To Represent Yourself In A Florida Divorce?

DIY Divorce in Florida released a Special Report titled "Do You Have What It Takes To Represent Yourself in a Florida Divorce? Avoiding the 3 Most Common Mistakes Divorcing Parents Make" last month. It's been very popular.

Believe me when I tell you that representing yourself in a Florida divorce isn't for everyone. That's why I wrote the Report.

After reading the Special Report, if you think that you've got what it takes to self-represent, you can try out our  Tele Test Drive Florida Divorce Class. It's a chance to test drive the Divorce Professor's Crash Course on Florida Divorce Law at no cost to see if our course is right for you.

You've got nothing to lose and everything to learn.

So if you're considering representing yourself, read our Special Report and join us for the Tele Test Drive Class on Florida Divorce Law. You'll be glad you did. Even if you decide to hire a lawyer, what you'll learn in our Special Report and Tele Test Drive class will save you money.

Related Post
Florida Divorce: Your Responsibilities When Representing Yourself

Divorce Overwhelm

Divorce CAN be overwhelming. In today's post,Lisa Decker, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, answers the question - Where Do I Start?

Hi Lisa, 

Help...I'm feeling so overwhelmed by everything with my divorce,  I don't know where to begin.  So many details to attend to and papers to gather.  Any suggestions?

A.K., Covington, Ga.

Dear A.K.,

First let me say that what you are feeling is normal.  I hope you will join in on the webinar, Divorce Dollars and $ense this week as there will be lots of helpful advice there. 

This excerpt from a recent article I wrote, "Wise Ways to Make Divorce Decisions," should give you more food for thought.

Divorce, like many life-altering challenges, has many decisions to be faced and dealt with.  There are documents to be gathered for the financial aspects, issues to be dealt with on the legal side, and relationship issues with children and soon-to-be ex's.  Any one of these can be exhausting, but in combination, they can be flat out overwhelming, leading to more stress in an already distressing environment.

I find clients typically fall into one of these modes when faced with decisions:

•     They shut down and don't do anything unless and until it is absolutely necessary;
  
•     They make rash decisions that may not always be in their interests because they hurry  through the decision making process;
  
•     They research and become fixated by analysis paralysis.
  
•     Some combination of above.

Obviously, none of these are ideal in helping you get from where you are to where you want to go. 

I have many people come to me saying that they felt pressured to make decisions at the settlement table about matters they did not understand.  They didn't feel comfortable asking questions because

Florida Divorce: Who Are You Going to Learn From?

Florida divorce & learning - a strange combination you think? Not really, if you think about it.

• Have you studied law and court procedure? 
• Do you know when you need to "improve" the official divorce form?
• How many motions have you written? 
• Do you understand the timing and sequence of a Florida divorce case?

You wouldn't make a cake without learning baking terms - flour the pan, sift dry ingredients. And you wouldn't drive a car without learning the rules of the road - stop on red, pull over for emergency vehicles. Surely you should spend some time learning about the terms and rules of Florida divorce. Your financial future and your children's lives depend on it.

But how do you know where to turn and who can teach you?

As I've mentioned before, I read many blogs in the course of a week. They cover topics from divorce to technology to marketing to learning. While reading Jeff Herring's latest post, I started thinking of you - the do it yourself divorce Joe or Jane. How can you tell who you should be learning from?

Jeff lists 3 different types of teachers:

Type 1 - Someone who has read a book or gone to a seminar on a topic, has never successfully done it, and is now going to teach you how to do it. I recommend my RLH response here: Run Like Hell!

Type 2 - Teacher has successfully done what you want to learn, is going to teach you, but is no longer doing it. Approach with caution: while you might be able to learn some good tips and strategies, you will be learning what got them where they are, not what they are doing right now to be successful. You won’t learn leading edge new stuff.

Type 3 - Teacher has successfully done what you want to learn, is going to teach you, and continues to do what is being taught. With this kind of teacher you get it all: what got them to where they are, what they are doing now to continue to grow, and what are the new next steps and strategies to keep you moving forward.

My recommendation: Learn from and follow only those who have done it, are teaching it, and continue to do it in their own businesses every day.

DIY Divorce in Florida offers a Tele Test Drive Florida Divorce class. Check it out if you are thinking about representing yourself in a Florida divorce.

Can You Help Other DIY'ers Going Through Florida Divorce?

If you've been through a Florida DIY divorce you can help other people get answers to the questions they're looking for. Can you spare a few minutes and email us a question that you had or have about representing yourself in a Florida divorce.

For more than 25 years I've represented people in Florida divorce cases. I know the questions they ask at the start of their divorce cases. And we've answered the most frequently asked question that we got when we opened last year.

IDY Divorce in Florida needs YOUR contributions to an updated Frequently Asked Questions section for the DIY Divorce Blog. In order to make it the most comprehensive source of answers for your Florida DIY divorce questions, I'm asking you to send me your questions.  pam (at) diydivorce dot com                                          

For questions received in the next 72 hours, I'll personally email you the answer. And your question may make it to the DIY Divorce Blog FAQs. In order to help the most people, DIY Divorce reserves the right to edit your question.

The one thing I'm certain of, if you're wondering so are other people.

So help us help you and all the other DIY divorce folks throughout Florida.