9781413317176

Turn to Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorcefor clear answers that can help make your divorce simpler and reduce your expenses. You'll even learn how to successfully divorce with minimal help from an attorney.The book explains what you should expect through each stage of divorce -- and how to handle it. This thorough guide will help you: .learn the difference between different types of divorce, including mediated, collaborative, and contested .how to identify and divide property and assets fairly .work with mediators or lawyers .avoid expensive and painful court battles .establish child custody and visitation .handle child support issues, including how support is paid and enforced .draft a marital settlement agreement .deal with divorce emergencies .address post-divorce issues .negotiate and settle spousal support The updated edition includes new information on bankruptcy and foreclosure, and explains how both can affect divorce. Plus easy-to-use charts make it simple to find the divorce laws in your state.

Emily Doskow is an attorney and mediator in private practice. She is the author of Nolo's Essential Guide to Child Custody Support and the coauthor of The Sharing Solution, Making It Legal and other Nolo titles.

Introduction: Your Divorce Companion
Getting Oriented	p. 3
Taking the High Road	p. 4
Separation or Divorce?	p. 5
Annulment	p. 10
Family Court	p. 12
Kinds of Divorces	p. 12
Property, Custody, and Support	p. 23
Getting Help From Experts	p. 25
First Steps After You Decide to Divorce	p. 27
Breaking the News	p. 28
Where Will Everyone Live?	p. 30
Gathering Financial Information	p. 33
Managing Your Family's Money	p. 37
Getting Legal and Other Professional Help Early	p. 52
Taking Care of Yourself	p. 52
When You Can Agree: Uncontested Divorce	p. 55
Basics of the Uncontested Divorce	p. 57
Summary Dissolution for Short-Term Marriages	p. 57
Default Divorce	p. 59
Preparing and Filing Legal Papers	p. 62
How the Other Spouse Can Respond	p. 78
Negotiating a Settlement and Preparing a Marital Settlement Agreement	p. 79
Finalizing Your Uncontested Divorce	p. 81
Working It Out: Divorce Mediation	p. 85
Why Divorce Mediation Works	p. 86
What Does Mediation Cost?	p. 88
Is Mediation Right for You?	p. 90
Suggesting Mediation to Your Spouse	p. 92
Choosing a Mediator	p. 94
Choosing and Working With a Lawyer	p. 102
The Mediation Process	p. 103
How to Make Your Mediation a Success	p. 110
After the Mediation, the Paperwork	p. 112
If Mediation Doesn't Work	p. 112
When You Can't Agree: Contested Divorce arid Trial	p. 115
Finding the Right Lawyer	p. 119
Paying the Lawyer	p. 124
Is Fault a Factor?	p. 130
Getting Started	p. 135
Gathering Information for Trial: Disclosures, Discovery, and Digging Up Dirt	p. 139
Settle, Settle, Settle!	p. 144
The Pretrial Conference	p. 146
Anatomy of a Divorce Trial	p. 147
After the Trial	p. 152
Custody Decisions and Parenting	p. 155
Physical and Legal Custody	p. 157
The High Road: Agreeing With Your Spouse on a Parenting Plan	p. 158
Helping Your Kids Cope With Divorce	p. 169
Making Shared Parenting Work	p. 176
Trying to Get Along With Your Ex	p. 185
When It Comes to Divorce, Grownups Are Kids, Too	p. 185
Custody Disputes	p. 187
The Low Road: Fighting It Out in Court	p. 188
How Courts Handle Custody Disputes	p. 188
If the Custodial Spouse Interferes With Visitation	p. 200
If One Parent Wants to Move Away	p. 201
Drug and Alcohol Abuse	p. 203
Child Support	p. 207
Who Pays Support?	p. 208
Temporary Support While the Divorce Is Pending	p. 209
Working It Out Yourselves	p. 209
How Courts Decide Support Amounts	p. 211
Estimating Child Support in Your Family	p. 214
How Support Is Paid Each Month	p. 218
If You're the Recipient: Enforcing Child Support Orders	p. 221
If You're the Paying Spouse	p. 225
How Long Support Lasts	p. 226
If Circumstances Change	p. 229
Taxes and Your Children	p. 230
Health Insurance	p. 233
Yours, Mine, and Ours: Basics of Marital Property	p. 237
Taking Inventory	p. 238
What Property Gets Divided	p. 239
Identifying Community Property	p. 241
Getting Financial Information	p. 242
Is Your Spouse Hiding Assets?	p. 244
Yours, Mine, and Uncle Sam's: Dividing Property	p. 247
You're in Control	p. 249
How Judges Divide Property	p. 250
What to Do With the House	p. 256
Dividing Your Other Assets	p. 270
What to Do With a Family Business	p. 278
Dividing Debt	p. 282
Tax Consequences of How You Divide Property	p. 290
Retirement Benefits	p. 293
Money Now and Later	p. 300
Spousal Support and Health Insurance	p. 303
Types of Spousal Support and How Long They Last	p. 306
How Courts Set the Amount of Support	p. 308
Negotiating Support With Your Spouse	p. 311
Planning for Possible Disability or Death of the Supporting Spouse	p. 315
Changing the Amount of Spousal Support Later	p. 316
Tax Planning When You Pay or Receive Support	p. 317
Keeping Health Insurance in Force	p. 320
Military Divorce: Special Issues	p. 325
Beginning a Divorce	p. 327
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act	p. 334
Custody and Visitation	p. 335
Support for Children and Spouses	p. 339
Dividing Property	p. 344
Pensions, Insurance, and Other Benefits	p. 344
Tax Issues	p. 352
Domestic Violence and Other Abuse	p. 352
Postdivorce Follow-Up	p. 354
Resources	p. 354
Getting It in Writing: Preparing Your Marital Settlement Agreement	p. 357
What It Is, What It Does	p. 358
Creating the Agreement	p. 359
Negotiations	p. 360
Doing the Math	p. 378
Consulting a Lawyer	p. 379
Completing the Paperwork	p. 392
Critical Care: When Things Really Go Wrong	p. 393
Domestic Violence	p. 394
Child Abuse	p. 397
Kidnapping	p. 398
Bankruptcy	p. 400
After the Divorce	p. 405
You're Not Done Yet: Ten Postdivorce Tasks You Can't Ignore	p. 407
The Kid Connection	p. 418
Modifying Spousal Support	p. 423
Your Right to Social Security	p. 423
Dating and New Relationships	p. 424
Hope Springs Eternal: Remarriage	p. 426
Getting Help and Helping Yourself	p. 427
Getting Help, Finding Information, and Looking Stuff Up	p. 433
More Great Books	p. 434
Getting Divorce Information and Forms	p. 437
Help With Negotiations	p. 446
Financial Advice	p. 447
Document Preparation Services	p. 449
Legal Advice	p. 452
Other Ways to Look Things Up	p. 455
Appendix	p. 459
Index	p. 475
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce

1413317170

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