A Divorce Checklist You Can Follow: Safety, Money, Children and Paperwork

What you get

What you can check now.

Sourced claims you can check, the templates you get, your capstone and the certificate of completion you earn.

Sourced and dated

Every claim links to the official page or research it came from, with the date it was checked. Sources are re-checked every 6 months. Last checked November 1, 2026. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Ready-to-use templates

15 templates you fill in as you go, plus the capstone workbook. Templates are licensed to you for your own personal and household use. You can’t resell, share or redistribute them.

Your Separation Binder

The capstone pulls every project into one Separation Binder: first steps, safety and documents, children and support, health cover, taxes and records, legal help and a 90-day plan.

Certificate of completion

Finish the capstone and pass the final assessment to earn a certificate of completion. The name and ID shown are a sample.

• T1

  First 30 days checklist and separation log

  .docx.pdf.xlsx Comes with lesson 1.1

  Your first 30 days on one page: your stage, your separation date, a pause list and a telling plan, plus a separation log workbook. Comes with lesson 1.1.

• T2

  Safety contacts card and tech-safety checklist

  .pdf Unlocks at Module 2

• T3

  Document gathering checklist

  .pdf.docx Unlocks at Module 2

• T4

  Money snapshot: accounts and debts

  .xlsx Unlocks at Module 2

• T5

  Two-household budget

  .xlsx Unlocks at Module 2

• T6

  Housing options worksheet

  .pdf Unlocks at Module 2

• T7

  Parenting plan worksheet and calendar

  .docx.xlsx Unlocks at Module 2

• T8

  “Telling the children” conversation planner

  .pdf Unlocks at Module 2

• T9

  Child support application checklist

  .pdf Unlocks at Module 2

• T10

  Health cover comparison and deadline tracker

  .xlsx Unlocks at Module 2

• T11

  Tax-year checklist after separation

  .pdf Unlocks at Module 2

• T12

  Name change and records update tracker

  .xlsx.pdf Unlocks at Module 2

• T13

  Legal process map and court self-help checklist

  .pdf Unlocks at Module 2

• T14

  Legal help finder and first-meeting questions

  .pdf.docx Unlocks at Module 2

• T15

  Support plan

  .pdf Unlocks at Module 2

• CAP

  Separation Binder workbook and 90-day plan

  .docx.xlsx Unlocks at Module 2

• PACK

  Full template pack

  .zip Unlocks at Module 2

• Module 13

  Capstone: your Separation Binder and 90-day plan

  Five units that pull every project into one Separation Binder: first steps, safety and documents; children and support; health cover, taxes and records; legal help, support and a 90-day plan; then a self-assessed rubric and a 40-question final assessment.

Templates are licensed to you for your own personal and household use. You can’t resell, share or redistribute them.

1. Module 1. First steps: separation, divorce and the first 30 days

   • Separation, legal separation and divorce: what the words meanThe difference between separating, a legal separation and a divorce, why the rules change from state to state, and what that means for your first steps.
   • The date you separated, and a separation logWhy to write down the date you separated, and how a simple log of dates, payments, agreements and arrangements helps later.
   • Slow down: what not to sign, move or decide in a hurryThe first-weeks decisions that are hard to undo (signing agreements, moving money, moving out, closing accounts) and the questions to ask before each.
   • Telling family, work and schoolWho needs to know about the separation, the minimum each needs to know, and how to keep children out of adult conversations.
   • Project: P1 Your first 30 days checklist and separation log
2. Module 2. Safety first

   • If you’re in danger: emergency and hotline helpEmergency numbers, the national domestic violence hotline and how to reach it by phone, text or chat, plus the equivalent lines in Australia, the UK and Canada.
   • Safety planning when you leave or live apartWhat a safety plan is, why advocates help make one, and the practical things people plan for: documents, money, a safe place and the children.
   • Tech safety: phones, accounts and location sharingHow phones, shared accounts and location sharing can be misused after a separation, and the checks advocates suggest.
   • Protective orders, safe mediation and safe handoversWhat protective (restraining) orders are, where to read your state’s rules in plain language, and how to stay safer in mediation and at handovers.
   • Project: P2 Your safety contacts card and tech-safety checklist
3. Module 3. Documents and the money picture

   • The documents to gather (and where to keep copies)The documents lawyers, mediators, courts and agencies usually ask for, how to gather them calmly, and how to keep copies safe.
   • Joint accounts and joint debtsWhat “joint” means for bank accounts, credit cards and loans after a separation, the difference between a joint holder and an authorized user, and what a divorce decree can and can’t do.
   • Your credit report as a debt mapHow to get your credit reports, what they show about joint and individual debts, and how to dispute mistakes or spot identity theft.
   • A two-household budget, and money used to controlWhy one income now has to cover two homes, how to build a first budget that you’ll revise, and how to recognize financial control.
   • Project: P3 Your document checklist, money snapshot and two-household budget
4. Module 4. Housing: stay, sell, buy out or rent

   • Stay, sell, buy out or rent: the decisions explainedThe four common housing paths after a separation, the questions each raises, and why this course explains options without recommending one.
   • The mortgage, the lease and the names on themWhy the names on the title, the mortgage and the lease each matter, what refinancing and assuming a mortgage mean, and why a quitclaim deed alone doesn’t end mortgage responsibility.
   • Renting again on one incomeWhat landlords usually ask for, how to prepare an application on one income, and how to budget for deposits and moving.
   • Housing counselors and emergency housingWhat HUD-approved housing counselors do, how to find one, and where emergency housing help comes from.
   • Project: P4 Your housing options worksheet
5. Module 5. Children: telling them, co-parenting and parenting plans

   • Telling the childrenHow pediatric and child psychiatry bodies suggest telling children about a separation, what to say at different ages, and the questions children often don’t ask aloud.
   • Custody words: legal, physical, joint and soleWhat legal and physical custody mean, the difference between joint and sole, the newer “parenting time” language, and what rights parents have before a court order.
   • Parenting plans and schedulesWhat a parenting plan covers, common schedules by age as examples, and how to make one by agreement, with a mediator or through the court.
   • Co-parenting, high conflict, travel and parenting classesHow to keep children out of the middle, parallel parenting when conflict is high, passports and travel consent, and court-ordered parenting classes.
   • Project: P5 Your parenting plan worksheet and conversation planner · Worked example: Dana and Sam’s two-week calendar (fictional)
6. Module 6. Child support basics

   • What child support is for, and who it coversWhat child support is, why it exists, who can ask for it (married or not), and how it differs from spousal support.
   • How support is set: state guidelinesHow states set child support amounts using guidelines, what information goes in, and why this course doesn’t give a calculator or estimate.
   • Applying through your state child support officeHow to apply for child support services, the documents offices usually ask for, and cases where the other parent lives in another state or country.
   • Changing and enforcing an orderHow child support orders can be changed when circumstances change, how enforcement works in general, and why informal changes can cause problems.
   • Project: P6 Your child support application checklist
7. Module 7. Health insurance after divorce

   • COBRA: what it is and when divorce triggers itWhat COBRA continuation coverage is, why divorce or legal separation is a qualifying event for a spouse, who must notify the plan, and the deadlines to watch.
   • Marketplace coverage and the Special Enrollment PeriodWhen a divorce lets you enroll in a Marketplace plan outside open enrollment, the 60-day window, and comparing Marketplace plans with COBRA.
   • Children’s coverage and comparing optionsWho covers the children after a separation, Medicaid and CHIP, and how support orders and parenting plans deal with health insurance.
   • Life insurance and beneficiariesWhy to review life insurance and beneficiary designations after a separation, what agreements sometimes require, and when not to change them.
   • Project: P7 Your health cover comparison and deadline tracker
8. Module 8. Taxes and retirement after divorce

   • Filing status and the last day of the yearHow your marital status on the last day of the tax year sets your federal filing status, the options when separated, and joint-return responsibility.
   • Who claims the children, and head of householdThe IRS custodial parent rule, Form 8332, and when a separated parent may file as head of household.
   • Alimony, property and withholdingHow alimony is treated for federal tax depending on the agreement date, why child support isn’t taxable, property transfers, and updating your W-4.
   • Retirement plans, QDROs and Social SecurityHow employer retirement plans are divided using a qualified domestic relations order, and Social Security benefits for divorced spouses.
   • Project: P8 Your tax-year checklist after separation
9. Module 9. Name change and updating your records

   • Changing your name through the divorceHow many states let you return to a former name as part of the divorce, what to ask for in your paperwork, and the court route if you didn’t.
   • Social Security first, then the restWhy to update Social Security first, then your driver’s license, then the IRS and everyone else, and what each needs.
   • Passports, banks, employers and accountsUpdating your passport, financial accounts, employer records and online accounts after a separation, whether or not your name changes.
   • Beneficiaries, emergency contacts, wills and powers of attorneyThe documents that name people to act or receive things for you, and what to review after a separation.
   • Project: P9 Your name change and records update tracker
10. Module 10. How the legal process generally works

    • The usual steps, with California as an exampleThe general shape of a divorce case (file, serve, share financial information, reach a judgment), using California’s official guide as a worked example.
    • Uncontested and contested casesThe difference between uncontested and contested divorces, no-fault grounds, joint petitions and simplified procedures, and how most cases settle.
    • Forms, fees, fee waivers and self-help centersWhere to find your state’s forms, how filing fees and fee waivers work, what court self-help centers can and can’t do, and how to prepare for a hearing.
    • Unmarried parents: custody and support without a divorceHow unmarried parents sort out parenting and support, why establishing parentage comes first, and what cases they file.
    • Project: P10 Your legal process map and court self-help checklist
11. Module 11. Finding official legal help, and mediation

    • Legal aid and lower-cost helpWhere to find legal aid, pro bono lawyers and online legal advice clinics, who qualifies, and how to use limited help well.
    • Hiring and briefing a family lawyerHow to choose a family lawyer, questions to ask in a first meeting, getting fees in writing, and how to prepare so you use paid time well.
    • Mediation and other ways to agreeWhat mediation is, court-connected mediation in custody cases, collaborative divorce, and how to prepare so mediation works.
    • When mediation isn’t safe, and court-ordered parent educationHow courts adapt mediation when there’s domestic violence, when to ask to be excused, and how court-ordered parenting classes differ from this course.
    • Project: P11 Your legal help finder and first-meeting question sheet
12. Module 12. Looking after yourself (and rebuilding)

    • Grief, stress and sleep after a separationWhy a separation can feel like grief even when it was your choice, the common effects on sleep, focus and mood, and when to get professional help.
    • Crisis and support linesThe national crisis and support lines in the US, Australia, the UK and Canada, what happens when you contact them, and how to help someone else use them.
    • Rebuilding a social lifeWhy separation can shrink your social circle, and practical ways to rebuild connection through friends, groups and routines.
    • Scams after a separation, and the next 12 monthsWhy people in a separation are targeted by romance, recovery and “quick divorce” scams, and how to look ahead over the next year.
    • Project: P12 Your support plan
13. Module 13. Capstone: your Separation Binder and 90-day plan

    • First steps, safety and documents (Modules 1–4)Bring your separation log, safety card, document checklist, money snapshot, budget and housing worksheet into the binder.
    • Children and support (Modules 5–6)Finalize the conversation planner, parenting plan worksheet and child support checklist.
    • Health cover, taxes and records (Modules 7–9)Finalize the health cover comparison, tax-year checklist and records tracker.
    • Legal help, support and your 90-day plan (Modules 10–12)Finalize the legal process map, legal help finder and support plan, then write your 90-day plan.
    • Final assessment (40 questions)A 40-question assessment drawn from an 80-question bank, mostly scenarios, covering every module. Pass mark 80%; retakes allowed.
    • Project: Capstone rubric (self-assessed)