Please help with a few questions....
 

I have few questions that I need help with...

When on an RTW ticket, it says that one must travel in one general direction; east or westward. Also that one has 12 months to complete the trip.

What I don't understand is how trips are broken up...

For example, if I want the following westward trip (DFW-LAX-HKG-DXB-LHR-MAD-ORD-DFW) how do I break it up in the middle, and finish the 2nd half a few months later? Let's say I do the first 4 flights this fall, and want to finish the remaining 3 in the spring. Am I correct to assume that I need to purchase a separate flight from LHR-back home-back to LHR to pick up where I left off?

Yes, or... start the rtw away from home, do the first part (ending at home), take a break, do the second part, return home on a separate ticket. Either way if you want to break the trip in two parts you are going to have to 'get there and back' on a separate ticket (paid or award).

Edited to add: Or, if budget and time permits, do nested OWEs. Some folk here nest two, even three rtws, mixing east/westbound directions... too much for me, who can't even manage one at a time without some serious planning, but some people claim that it can be done successfully.
 

I noticed that your itinerary is built following a purely westward direction (i.e. all flights are westward). Please note that you need to keep your west or eastward direction only when traveling between continents. Inside a single continent, you are free to move in any direction you want.

For example:
DFW-LAX-HKG-DXB-LHR-HEL-MAD-ORD-NYC-DFW would be fine (even if the LHR-HEL & ORD-NYC sections are eastward in an itinerary where all intercontinental connections are westward)

Nevertheless: DFW-LAX-HKG-DXB-BOM-LHR-MAD-ORD-DFW would be illegal, given that you backtrack between continents on the DXB-BOM flight (Europe/Middle East to Asia, eastwards).

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To be more precise between areas TC1/2/3, not between continents.

Thanks, looking to build a nice RTW trip for an anniversary next year, right now I'm just playing around with cities and trying to make sense of things.

Gracias!