Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce

Table of Contents......Page 9
Introduction: Your Divorce Companion......Page 13
1. Getting Oriented......Page 15
Taking the High Road......Page 17
Separation or Divorce?......Page 18
Annulment......Page 22
Family Court......Page 23
Kinds of Divorces......Page 24
Property, Custody, and Support......Page 32
Getting Help from Experts......Page 34
2. First Steps After You Decide to Divorce......Page 35
Breaking the News......Page 37
Where Will Everyone Live?......Page 39
Gathering Financial Information......Page 42
Managing Your Family’s Money......Page 45
Taking Care of Yourself......Page 59
3. When You Can Agree: Uncontested Divorce......Page 61
Basics of the Uncontested Divorce......Page 63
Summary Dissolution for Short-Term Marriages......Page 65
Default Divorce......Page 66
Preparing and Filing Legal Papers......Page 69
How the Other Spouse Can Respond......Page 82
Negotiating a Settlement and Preparing a Marital Settlement Agreement......Page 83
Finalizing Your Uncontested Divorce......Page 84
4. Working It Out: Divorce Mediation......Page 89
Why Divorce Mediation Works......Page 91
What Does Mediation Cost?......Page 93
Is Mediation Right for You?......Page 95
Suggesting Mediation to Your Spouse......Page 97
Choosing a Mediator......Page 98
Choosing and Working With a Lawyer......Page 105
The Mediation Process......Page 106
How to Make Your Mediation a Success......Page 112
If Mediation Doesn’t Work......Page 113
5. When You Can’t Agree: Contested Divorce and Trial......Page 115
Finding the Right Lawyer......Page 119
Paying the Lawyer......Page 123
Is Fault a Factor?......Page 128
Getting Started......Page 130
Gathering Information for Trial: Disclosures, Discovery, and Digging Up Dirt......Page 134
Settle, Settle, Settle!......Page 138
The Pretrial Conference......Page 140
Anatomy of a Divorce Trial......Page 141
After the Trial......Page 145
6. Custody Decisions and Parenting......Page 149
Physical and Legal Custody......Page 152
The High Road: Agreeing With Your Spouse on a Parenting Plan......Page 153
Helping Your Kids Cope with Divorce......Page 160
Making Shared Parenting Work......Page 167
When It Comes to Divorce, Grownups Are Kids, Too......Page 174
7. Custody Disputes......Page 175
How Courts Handle Custody Disputes......Page 177
If the Custodial Spouse Interferes with Visitation......Page 188
If One Parent Wants to Move Away......Page 189
Drug and Alcohol Abuse......Page 191
8. Child Support......Page 195
Who Pays Support?......Page 197
Working It Out Yourselves......Page 198
How Courts Decide Support Amounts......Page 200
Estimating Child Support in Your Family......Page 202
How Support Is Paid Each Month......Page 206
If You’re the Recipient: Enforcing Child Support Orders......Page 211
If You’re the Paying Spouse......Page 212
How Long Support Lasts......Page 213
If Circumstances Change......Page 215
Taxes and Your Children......Page 216
Health Insurance......Page 219
9. Yours, Mine, and Ours: Basics of Marital Property......Page 221
Taking Inventory......Page 223
What Property Gets Divided......Page 224
Identifying Community Property......Page 226
Getting Financial Information......Page 227
Is Your Spouse Hiding Assets?......Page 228
10. Yours, Mine, and Uncle Sam’s: Dividing Property......Page 231
You’re in Control......Page 233
How Judges Divide Property......Page 234
What to Do With the House......Page 239
Dividing Your Other Assets......Page 247
What to Do With a Family Business......Page 253
Dividing Debt......Page 257
Tax Consequences of How You Divide Property......Page 260
Retirement Benefits......Page 263
Money Now and Later......Page 270
11. Spousal Support and Health Insurance......Page 271
Types of Spousal Support and How Long They Last......Page 274
How Courts Set the Amount of Support......Page 277
Negotiating Support With Your Spouse......Page 279
Planning for Possible Disability or Death of the Supporting Spouse......Page 283
Changing the Amount of Spousal Support Later......Page 284
Tax Planning When You Pay or Receive Support......Page 285
Keeping Health Insurance in Force......Page 288
12. Getting It in Writing: Preparing Your Marital Settlement Agreement......Page 293
What It Is, What It Does......Page 295
Negotiations......Page 296
Doing the Math......Page 313
Consulting a Lawyer......Page 314
Completing the Paperwork......Page 316
13. Critical Care: When Things Really Go Wrong......Page 327
Domestic Violence......Page 329
Kidnapping......Page 332
Bankruptcy......Page 334
14. After the Divorce......Page 337
You’re Not Done Yet: Ten Post-Divorce Tasks You Can’t Ignore......Page 339
The Kid Connection......Page 349
Modifying Spousal Support......Page 353
Dating and New Relationships......Page 354
Hope Springs Eternal: Remarriage......Page 356
Getting Help and Helping Yourself......Page 357
15. Getting Help, Finding Information, and Looking Stuff Up......Page 363
More Great Books......Page 365
Getting Divorce Information and Forms......Page 368
Financial Advice......Page 374
Document Preparation Services......Page 377
Legal Advice......Page 379
Other Ways to Look Things Up......Page 382
Appendix......Page 385
Grounds for Divorce......Page 387
Financial Inventory......Page 389
Net Worth Summary......Page 391
Monthly Income......Page 393
Daily Expenses......Page 395
Monthly Budget......Page 397
Index......Page 401