You Can Have a More Empowered, Less-Stress Divorce
We are thrilled to welcome this week's guest blogger, Erin Levine, Founder of Hello Divorce, an amazing online tool to streamline the legal process of divorce. The service is expanding to New York shortly - arming those coping with transition with affordable guidance and resources.
For the last 14 years, I’ve been a divorce lawyer. I’m the owner of Levine Family Law Group, based in Oakland, CA and Hello Divorce, a website that provides affordable legal help. A confusing and lonely experience with the legal system as a late teen led me to become a lawyer. I felt trapped, scared, and clueless in my attempts to navigate the law while honoring my emotional well-being throughout the legal process. This moment in my life was pivotal, as I became clear that I never wanted anyone to feel the way that I felt. Today, I am given the chance every day to use adversity as an opportunity to support others in their growth.
When I think about it now, I am convinced that one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves in this life is the chance to turn our obstacles into opportunities — our breakups into breakthroughs.
But divorce is complicated. The system is complicated. And, what I can’t stand is that the system is set up to pit spouse against spouse. We’re required to file a lawsuit to separate, and in so many cases it quickly becomes X versus Y. The process is set up to create conflict.
Creating Hello Divorce is my attempt to change the experience of divorce itself.
Hello Divorce is a new way to divorce. And one that costs a fraction of the cost of a traditional lawyer. Our platform offers a constantly growing collection of tools, articles and worksheets to demystify the divorce process and help you navigate it on your own, while keeping your sanity (and your pocketbook) intact. The average cost of a traditional lawyer-assisted divorce in California is $27,000, per person. At Hello Divorce, we’ve reduced that average to $1,500.
We’ve also developed the Divorce Navigator, a groundbreaking new app that walks users step-by-step through the California divorce process and offers flat-rate access to legal help at any point along the way. The app is free to use, and those with a $99/month DIY Divorce membership can access the coolest part: a form-generating feature that lets users complete and print file-ready copies of the 20+ forms required for California divorce in plain language, on their own, at their own pace.
Right now, anyone going through divorce in California can access our legal services. Soon, we’ll be expanding to Florida, Texas and New York. But the articles and resources on our site are applicable to anyone, anywhere, who wants to register for a free Starter Membership. We’ve got worksheets that will help you prepare a co-parenting plan, make time for self-care, and help you set goals for life after divorce. We’ve got checklists to follow before you file for divorce, and after. We’ve even got tips for breaking the news about your divorce to friends and family, and a “Good Friend’s Guide to Divorce” for those who are supporting someone else through a divorce.
Look: divorce is the unwinding of the most complicated contract any of us have ever entered. Our goal is to help you feel empowered and in control of this process, and to remind you that you are not alone. You can do this. You will get through this chapter to a new, better version of yourself. See how we can help at HelloDivorce.com.
Erin Levine is a Certified Family Law Specialist, founder of Hello Divorce and the owner of respected Bay Area boutique firm, Levine Family Law Group.