Divorce Expo: Start Over Smart Expo In NYC Helps Divorcees (VIDEO)

After 14 years of marriage, Randi Lambert will finalize her divorce from her husband next month. But first, the mother of two said she plans to head to this weekend's Start Over Smart Divorce Expo in New York City.

“I want to make sure I know anything and everything... [So] I won’t have to look back and say I should’ve, I could’ve," she said during a "Today" show segment about the expo Friday.

Lambert won't be the only one. On March 31 and April 1, people from all over the country will converge at New York City's Metropolitan Pavillion for the inaugural Start Over Smart Divorce Expo, an event that will focus on navigating the divorce process and its aftermath. (Huffington Post Divorce, the media sponsor for the event, will host a panel on infidelity Sunday.)

Though the divorce rate hovers around 50 percent in the U.S., the sobering breakup process is all too often faced alone, said Francine Baras, a family therapist who co-founded Start Over Smart with her daughter, Nicole Baras Feuer, a mediator.

"Divorce is still in the closet. We think we talk about it but when you're facing it yourself, you're facing it alone," Baras told "Today" correspondent Amy Robach.

Hoping to change that, the mother-daughter team created the expo where men and women in various stages of divorce can come together and attend panels featuring a wide range of experts -- from attorneys and financial advisors to life coaches and style gurus. On Saturday night, professional matchmaker Amy Laurent will host a cocktail party at the same venue for the many newly-singles attending the event.

"Meeting other people going through a divorce is a huge part of the expo," Baras Feuer, a recent divorcee herself, told the Huffington Post earlier this week.

To learn more about the Start Over Smart Divorce Expo, watch the "Today" show segment above and visit StartOverSmartNY.com.

Comments

[JenniferLoeffler]

02:12 PM on 04/21/2012

I am so upset I missed these date. I only been able to get up and functionable within the last month. I needed this more than ever. So happy to hear someone is tackling this subject. I am willing to help (and learn) in every way. Being fairly local to NYC I can be there at anytime.

[TheSelfishWoman]

11:10 AM on 04/02/2012

Brilliant idea! In a society where divorce was frowned upon for centuries, the act needs to be treated with respect and support. Being informed can make the process less painful for all involved. And to show people that life after divorce is full of possibilities gives them hope and comfort.
Overall, this is a lifeline whose time has come.
Christia Sale
Women's Life After Divorce Expert
www.themostselfishwomaninamerica.com

[NobleTry]

09:37 PM on 04/01/2012

I got a list of the panel discussions. They include:

Just for Men: 101 Things You Didn't Know About Online Pornography

Girls, Are Your Batteries Charged?

Who Do I Yell at Now That You're Gone?

1,001 Fun Things to do with the Leftover Pizza Box

Loneliness: Welcoming Your New Friend with Open Arms

[Box500]

07:58 PM on 04/01/2012

How about a Dont-Get-Married-Class for everyone in high school instead of this. A divorce-expo just sounds like a meat-market to me.

Stupid married people

[NakiaJ]

11:39 AM on 04/01/2012

I could have used something like this. It's been hard rebuilding post-divorce, and I've had to learn most things on my own. Yes, some people might say, "well, don't get divorced, then", but if one party decides to divorce, in many states, there's not much you can do to stop it.

[Matt12]

07:32 PM on 03/31/2012

Vat a great idea!! Let's make a buck off the depressed!!

[OtayPanky]

02:03 PM on 04/01/2012

Two bulls, a father and son, were standing at the top of a hill, looking down on a herd of cows. The son says to the father, excitedly, "Pop, let's run down that hill and have our way with a couple of them cows".

Nah", says the father. "Let's WALK down the hill, and have our way with all of them".

---

Brought to you by OtayPanky and the Horribly Insensitive Society of All Men Everywhere On This Wretched Earth.

[NoPsychoBabble]

02:13 PM on 04/01/2012

Yes, but did they need Aqua Velva?

[Chuck Reinertsen]

10:29 AM on 03/31/2012

A Divorce Expo is a Great Concept. Many people, usually women, have difficulty moving on with their life following divorce. If an individual can get some instruction, a few ideas, and make their own plan for moving on with their life, that would be super!

Re-marriage would make a better emotional environment for children and the entire family. It's the destructive long term or permanent financial ties remaining following divorce that divide the family. The sooner they are cut, the sooner the family heals and remarriage becomes an option, for both spouses. Check out www.FloridaAlimonyReform.com to learn why people are NOT getting married again. Let's make marriage an asset and not a liability!!

[Teatime Tvair]

10:14 AM on 03/31/2012

Instead of a Divorce expo, how about a marriage expo for newlyweds and married people? Sounds more sensible to me. But as Senstive Mans states .....just another business idea for someone to make some money

[ennui the third]

09:57 AM on 03/31/2012

Get divorced...don't get divorced....it's all a bore.

[jackdaniel58]

08:46 AM on 03/31/2012

Navigate this!