Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce

Table of Contents......Page 10
Introduction:  Your Divorce Companion......Page 16
1. Getting Oriented......Page 18
Taking the High Road......Page 19
Separation or Divorce?......Page 20
Annulment......Page 25
Kinds of Divorces......Page 27
Property, Custody, and Support......Page 37
Getting Help From Experts......Page 39
2. First Steps After You Decide to Divorce......Page 40
Breaking the News......Page 41
Where Will Everyone Live?......Page 43
Gathering Financial Information......Page 46
Managing Your Family\'s Money......Page 50
Taking Care of Yourself......Page 65
3. When You Can Agree: Uncontested Divorce......Page 68
Summary Dissolution for Short-Term Marriages......Page 70
Default Divorce......Page 72
Preparing and Filing Legal Papers......Page 75
How the Other Spouse Can Respond......Page 91
Negotiating a Settlement and Preparing a Marital Settlement Agreement......Page 92
Finalizing Your Uncontested Divorce......Page 93
4. Working It Out: Divorce Mediation......Page 98
Why Divorce Mediation Works......Page 99
What Does Mediation Cost?......Page 101
Is Mediation Right for You?......Page 103
Suggesting Mediation to Your Spouse......Page 105
Choosing a Mediator......Page 107
Choosing and Working With a Lawyer......Page 114
The Mediation Process......Page 116
How to Make Your Mediation a Success......Page 122
If Mediation Doesn\'t Work......Page 124
5. When You Can’t Agree: Contested Divorce and Trial......Page 126
Finding the Right Lawyer......Page 130
Paying the Lawyer......Page 135
Is Fault a Factor?......Page 141
Getting Started......Page 144
Gathering Information for Trial: Disclosures, Discovery, and Digging Up Dirt......Page 148
Settle, Settle, Settle!......Page 152
The Pretrial Conference......Page 155
Anatomy of a Divorce Trial......Page 156
After the Trial......Page 160
6. Custody Decisions and Parenting......Page 164
Physical and Legal Custody......Page 166
The High Road: Agreeing With Your Spouse on a Parenting Plan......Page 167
Helping Your Kids Cope With Divorce......Page 178
Making Shared Parenting Work......Page 185
When It Comes to Divorce, Grownups Are Kids, Too......Page 193
7. Custody Disputes......Page 196
How Courts Handle Custody Disputes......Page 197
If the Custodial Spouse Interferes With Visitation......Page 209
If One Parent Wants to Move Away......Page 210
Drug and Alcohol Abuse......Page 212
8. Child Support......Page 216
Who Pays Support?......Page 217
Working It Out Yourselves......Page 218
How Courts Decide Support Amounts......Page 220
Estimating Child Support in Your Family......Page 223
How Support Is Paid Each Month......Page 227
If You’re the Recipient: Enforcing Child Support Orders......Page 230
If You\'re the Paying Spouse......Page 233
How Long Support Lasts......Page 235
If Circumstances Change......Page 237
Taxes and Your Children......Page 239
Health Insurance......Page 242
9. Yours, Mine, and Ours: Basics of Marital Property......Page 244
Taking Inventory......Page 245
What Property Gets Divided......Page 246
Identifying Community Property......Page 248
Getting Financial Information......Page 249
Is Your Spouse Hiding Assets?......Page 251
10. Yours, Mine, and Uncle Sam’s: Dividing Property......Page 254
You\'re in Control......Page 256
How Judges Divide Property......Page 257
What to Do With the House......Page 262
Dividing Your Other Assets......Page 271
What to Do With a Family Business......Page 278
Dividing Debt......Page 283
Tax Consequences of How You Divide Property......Page 286
Retirement Benefits......Page 289
Money Now and Later......Page 296
11. Spousal Support and Health Insurance......Page 298
Types of Spousal Support and How Long They Last......Page 301
How Courts Set the Amount of Support......Page 303
Negotiating Support With Your Spouse......Page 306
Planning for Possible Disability or Death of the Supporting Spouse......Page 310
Changing the Amount of Spousal Support Later......Page 311
Tax Planning When You Pay or Receive Support......Page 312
Keeping Health Insurance in Force......Page 315
12. Military Divorce: Special Issues......Page 320
Beginning a Divorce......Page 322
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act......Page 328
Custody and Visitation......Page 330
Support for Children and Spouses......Page 333
Pensions, Insurance, and Other Benefits......Page 339
Tax Issues......Page 346
Domestic Violence and Other Abuse......Page 347
Resources......Page 348
13. Getting It in Writing: Preparing Your Marital Settlement Agreement......Page 350
What It Is, What It Does......Page 351
Negotiations......Page 352
Doing the Math......Page 371
Consulting a Lawyer......Page 372
Completing the Paperwork......Page 385
14. Critical Care: When Things Really Go Wrong......Page 386
Domestic Violence......Page 387
Child Abuse......Page 390
Kidnapping......Page 391
Bankruptcy......Page 393
15. After the Divorce......Page 396
You’re Not Done Yet: Ten Postdivorce Tasks You Can’t Ignore......Page 398
The Kid Connection......Page 408
Your Right to Social Security......Page 414
Dating and New Relationships......Page 415
Hope Springs Eternal: Remarriage......Page 416
Getting Help and Helping Yourself......Page 418
16. Getting Help, Finding Information, and Looking Stuff Up......Page 424
More Great Books......Page 425
Getting Divorce Information and Forms......Page 428
Help With Negotiations......Page 437
Financial Advice......Page 438
Document Preparation Services......Page 440
Legal Advice......Page 443
Other Ways to Look Things Up......Page 446
Appendix......Page 450
Index......Page 468