Frequently Asked Questions

About the Divorce First Aid Toolkit

WHAT IT IS

  • The Divorce First Aid Toolkit is a 12-lesson, self-paced online course that educates you on different stages of divorce preparation, from breaking the news to protecting your finances to finding the right legal team. It's built from over 30 years of family law experience and designed to be worked through at your own pace.

  • No. The Toolkit provides educational guidance on divorce preparation, not legal advice. Laws vary by state, so you'll still need a licensed attorney for legal advice specific to your situation. This course is built to make you a stronger, better-informed client when you do sit down with one. We prefer to work alongside your lawyer and, when appropriate, to be engaged as part of the legal team.

WHO IT IS FOR

  • This course is for anyone navigating divorce, whether you're just starting to consider it, actively going through it, or supporting someone who is. You don't need to be certain about whether you are filing for divorce to get value from it. In fact, several lessons speak to the discerning process.

  • No. The Toolkit is built for anyone navigating divorce, wherever you live. Jim's legal practice is based in North Carolina, but the course focuses on the strategic, financial, and personal preparation that applies no matter what state you're in. For questions specific to your state's laws, you'll still want a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. This course will not only help you find the right legal counsel, but it will also help you get more out of the lawyer-client relationship.

  • No. Many people take this course while they're still deciding whether to file for divorce. Preparation and education on the divorce process don't commit you to anything. Several modules speak directly to that discernment process, including one that walks through how to decide whether your marriage should end.

  • Great! This course makes you a better client. Attorneys typically charge $300 to $500+ an hour, and a portion of that time often goes to explaining basics you can learn here on your own schedule. Coming to your attorney already prepared means your paid time with them goes further. This course provides you with additional coaching and resources that might not be covered or provided by your attorney. We discuss topics like self-care, discerning whether the marriage should end, and how to break the news, plus we give you book recommendations, additional downloads, and guided meditations that go beyond what you would get with a traditional legal team.

COST & ACCESS

  • Your access lasts one year from the date of purchase, subject to renewal. Most divorces take six to eighteen months to resolve, so that window is built to carry you through the full process, with room to revisit material as your situation changes.

  • Yes. One hour with a family law attorney typically costs $300 to $500+ and covers only the basics of how the process works. This course covers that ground and more, at your own pace, with no clock running. It's also built to help you avoid the emotionally driven decisions that quietly run up costs later in the process. Prepared, informed participants generally spend less time in conflict and less money resolving it. The course is designed to put you in that category.

GETTING STARTED

  • Your purchase and access are completely private on our end. However, we recommend using a personal device, a credit card, and an email address that your spouse doesn't have access to for extra security.

  • While there is a natural progression to the course, it is also built so you can start with your most pressing question. Most people work through it from front to back, but you are welcome to jump straight to the lessons that match what you're facing right now.

The Divorce Clarity Intensive

WHAT IT INCLUDES

  • The Divorce Clarity Intensive is private coaching with Jim, available exclusively to Toolkit enrollees. It includes two 50-minute sessions by phone or video. These sessions will help you slow things down, organize your thinking, and approach difficult circumstances more intentionally. This is also your chance to learn more from Jim about any topic from any module of the Insight Divorce First Aid Toolkit that matters to you.

  • The Divorce Clarity Intensive is designed for anyone who has gone through or is currently working through the course and wants to talk through their situation directly with Jim rather than working through it alone. It can be helpful if you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or caught between competing thoughts and emotions, and want space to think out loud with someone who has seen this process play out many times.

    These conversations are a place to process and gain clarity, not to be told what to do. The Intensive isn't therapy, legal advice, or a substitute for your own decision-making.

HOW IT WORKS

  • Yes. We prefer to work alongside your attorney and, when appropriate, to be engaged as part of your legal team rather than as a separate, outside service.

    When coaching is retained directly by you, outside your legal team's structure, conversations and materials from those sessions are generally not protected by attorney-client privilege and may be discoverable in litigation. When coaching is engaged as part of your legal team, that protection may apply.

    Because privilege rules vary by state and by situation, this is a good question to raise directly with your attorney, who can advise you on whether and how to structure coaching within your legal team.

  • Sessions are held by phone or video, whichever you prefer. Once you decide to enroll, Dorothy will contact you to welcome you to the program and schedule your sessions. You will have 12 months from your welcome call to use both sessions. Additional coaching sessions are available upon request.