Real Money Advice For Divorce (Your Family, Your Money)

Luna Group Pty Ltd Publishing (Published 2009)

Written by Analaura and Wilson Luna

Country: Australia

Review 5 Stars – LIFE CHANGING

How the blurb describes the book:
Do you need an easy-to-follow plan to guide you through your divorce?
Would you like to save time and money on the legal process?
Do you want to have a competitive edge when negotiating your property settlement?
Would you like to thrive in your single life and create a secure financial future for your kids?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions ... this book is for you!

Separation and divorce are never easy and it’s vitally important that you’re ready to tackle this financial, emotional and legal roller-coaster ride as you work towards creating a successful and happy new life for yourself and your kids.

Real Money Advice for Divorce is a definitive three-stage guide that will help you to negotiate the financial aspects of the divorce process, stopping along the way to address some of the emotional and legal issues you’re likely to face as well. Your Family Your Money’s characteristic blend of real-life experience and down-to-earth advice combine to give you the knowledge and resources you’ll need to start your journey to financial recovery, making this a must-read for anyone going through a separation.

Over the years, the Luna’s have guided countless clients through divorce, and without exception found that it was a time when people needed simple, effective steps to follow as they worked through the process. Now they’re giving every Australian access to the comprehensive Divorce Survival Plan that they have used to create fantastic outcomes for their clients.

Here’s what some everyday Aussies discovered as they experienced the benefits of the Divorce Survival Plan firsthand:
‘The Lunas’ plan was a comprehensive easy-to-understand blueprint that walked me through my property settlement negotiations. It gave me the competitve edge that I needed.’ Elizabeth, Castle Hill, Sydney

‘I loved the holistic nature of this plan. It not only covered the financial side of my divorce, but also took into account most of the emotional, legal and even child support issues as well.’ Anthony, St Kilda, Melbourne

Mr Home Budget’s Review:
If you have already seen our review score for this book. You will know it gets a very rare five out of five. It’s such a shame that it’s such a well thought out and written book, that unless you are going through a divorce you will never get the chance to read it (not that you should aim for a divorce, just to get a chance to read it!)

The book holds your hand to let you know exactly what you should expect during this legal process. And what should be on your ‘to do’ list to make things run smoother and keep your budget in check. But it also talks about the emotional side of things, not just the black and white facts. These things include:
How will the kids react, and more importantly how to talk to them
How to deal with an ex partner who does not want to negotiate
Ways to control your emotions during arguments or fights
Ideas on how to stay on track when you have hit rock bottom
How to start entering the dating world again, and what to expect

Analaura and Wilson Luna advise you not to read the book in one sitting. Instead the book is broken down into three parts:
1. Separating
2. Setting
3. Succeeding

By breaking it down it allows you to just think about one part at a time. Instead of filling your mind with facts and trying to work out which is more important? The authors know full well if you are going through a divorce, emotionally you are probably exhausted. You need as much handholding through this process as possible.

Also at appropriate times they have three different tools in the book:
1. Action Station “a premade ‘to do’ list”
2. Divorce Toolbox — “This is a handy guide of resources for you to do; including premade spreadsheets and budgets”
3. Handy Hints “Additional tips you might or might not like to think about while this process is going on”

What really strikes me about this book is just how much they do cover. It is a true guide from A to Z on divorce. However, unlike most books which try to cover absolutely everything; this book is not boring to read and it’s definitely not like a textbook. But most importantly, it will talk about money before, during and after the divorce.

Plus they have great sayings thrown in randomly. These can be to motivate, educate or just give you the real deal on divorce. For example, “Divorce is the psychological equivalent of a triple coronary bypass”.

Some of the lines throughout the book which I enjoyed: “ During all of this research one thing stood out glaringly – there are any number of self help books for surviving divorce emotionally, physically and even spiritually, and certainly anyone who has lived through a divorce will tell you that these are an invaluable resource. But we did not find a definitive Australian guide to getting through a divorce financially.”

Other ones which I wanted to point out: “While there are endless reasons why you may be getting divorced, there are three basic issues that are central to almost every divorce proceeding:
1. How to divide joint property, assets and debts fairly, including what to do with the major breadwinner’s superannuation fund.
2. How to decide who will have primary care of the children and negotiation of ‘direct parenting’ times, as well as agreed contact between these visits, such as email and phone calls.
3. Child support payments, including negotiation the ‘real’ costs of raising a child compared with the theoretical cost structure used by the Child Support Agency when calculating child maintenance responsibilities.”

The bottom line is if you are going through a divorce or just about to start divorce proceedings, you need good advice. Now you can either call your lawyer at $300 an hour to get his opinion or you can pick up this book and get a great understanding. This book won’t stop you needing to find a good lawyer however; it will give you great knowledge as you embark on a huge change in your life. Plus you will know the secrets of how to come out of a divorce with the least money needing to be spent. Good luck!

Pros:
Extremely easy to read and understand.
I believe it will calm people down in this bad life stage, and get them to focus on the next goals in front of them.
It gives you many ideas on how to tackle the problem as a whole, but in easy to do stages.

Cons:
The ultimate goal is never to need to buy this book. Thus probably not giving the authors the Australia wide credit they deserve.