BOOK REVIEWS
Just Sign Here, Honey is the revised and updated edition of The Ten Biggest Legal Mistakes Women Can Avoid

Bookviews.com — October 2003
A book of particular interest to women is Just sign Here, Honey: Women's 10 Biggest Legal Mistakes & How to Avoid Them by Marilyn Barrett ($14.95, Capital Books softcover) that, as the title says, will help any woman who wants to protect her assets, deal with a nasty divorce, and similar problems. It addresses the issues involved in one's legal title to property, prenuptial agreements, marriage and divorce, starting and running a business, paying taxes, estate planning, and hiring an attorney. In plain English, this book will prove an invaluable guide to any woman to insure she has proper protection. The author has more than twenty year's experience practicing law.

Law Library Journal
[Just Sign Here Honey] is a tool belt to construct, repair, or improve the financial devastation of a fallen marriage or relationship for women of varied socio-economic backgrounds. This self-help guide is a “must read” for the proactive woman who is not legally savvy. It also serves as a motivator for any woman who believes she is not in control of her destiny or her financial affairs. Barrett’s use of high-profile celebrity figures and lawsuits reads, on occasion, like a sophisticated tabloid with sound legal advice provided at every steamy turn of events.

Los Angeles Daily Journal
With her conviction to empower women through knowledge, Marilyn Barrett, a down-to-earth, no-nonsense tax partner at Los Angeles' Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan, hopes to guide women on managing their legal affairs in the pages of her new book The Ten Biggest Legal Mistakes Women Can Avoid. The purpose of her book, Barrett says, is "to make women aware that they will be held accountable for their legal choices."... Barrett's book is quick to point out that women from all facets of life are affected by bad legal choices. ... After reading the book, Stacy Phillips, a noted family lawyer, says she would definitely recommend it to her clients. "Marilyn Barrett," she says, "did a great job of speaking in English about sensitive and scary topics."

Library Journal
According to attorney Barrett, the most common legal hassles for women are those relating to marriage and divorce, starting and managing a business, working with lawyers, paying taxes, protecting title to property, and planning for death or incapacity. Barrett begins her discourse on each of these areas with anecdotes about women who were smart and capable but who nevertheless failed to take steps to protect their own interests. The anecdotes are followed by an explanation of the applicable laws, definitions of the legal terminology, and tips for anticipating, avoiding, or extricating oneself from similar problems. An appendix offers some forms, including a deed, a will, and a power of attorney. Barrett encourages women to take responsibility for themselves and their family and business interests. She provides information and advice in a coherent fashion, and the anecdotal style works to help point up the variety of legal problems women face.

Feminist Majority Report
Barrett’s book addresses the major legal decisions that many encounter….Her advice boils down to a simple set of very sound principles….and also provides a very useful crash course in legal and financial vocabulary so that the reader will be able to understand the documents that control her assets and property. Legal books in general…can be exceptionally dull. Barrett avoids this pitfall by filling the book with real life examples from famous and infamous divorces and from the lives of regular people.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Women have more assets, more property and more career options than ever. They also have more legal burdens. Barrett’s most important message is this: Take charge of your own financial life.

Wisconsin Lawyer
This is the type of book that general practice lawyers may want to keep on hand as a resource for their female clients…. Barrett recommends simple and straightforward measures to prevent the disasters that befall women in modern-day America. Some of her most basic recommendations undoubtedly echo most lawyers’ similar advice….[T]he author’s advice is sensible, useful and reader-friendly. In addition, the author has chosen important, wide-ranging topics for discussion: entering into prenuptial agreements; protecting yourself during a marriage and at the time of divorce; starting and running a business by the books; tips for hiring and firing lawyers; dealing with tax problems; assuring proper legal title to real estate; and estate planning options and issues. The author nicely mixes the hard-luck stories of “everyday people” with those of the more famous….

California Veckoblad
No foolin’, this down-to-earth, no nonsense lawyer wants to help women avoid legal mistakes. She’s an attractive bundle of energy, a female in a mostly all male profession who told us, vis-à-vis over bruncheon at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, tape to type: the purpose of her book is to make women aware that they will be held accountable for their legal choices. She said, “Many women trust too much and don’t take as much care of their affairs when dealing with someone they love. “Ladies, the most important thing she wants us to remember is not to sign documents you haven’t read or don’t understand.”