Taking the High Road p. 4 --
Separation or Divorce? p. 5 --
Kinds of Divorces p. 13 --
Property, Custody, and Support p. 26 --
Getting Help From Experts p. 28 --
2 First Steps After You Decide to Divorce p. 29 --
Breaking the News p. 30 --
Where Will Everyone Live? p. 32 --
Gathering Financial Information p. 37 --
Managing Your Family's Money p. 40 --
Getting Legal and Other Professional Help Early p. 56 --
Taking Care of Yourself p. 57 --
3 When You Can Agree: Uncontested Divorce p. 59 --
Basics of the Uncontested Divorce p. 61 --
Summary Dissolution for Short-Term Marriages p. 62 --
Preparing and Filing Legal Papers p. 66 --
How the Other Spouse Can Respond p. 84 --
Negotiating a Settlement and Preparing a Marital Settlement Agreement p. 85 --
Finalizing Your Uncontested Divorce p. 87 --
4 Working It Out: Divorce Mediation p. 91 --
Why Divorce Mediation Works p. 92 --
What Does Mediation Cost? p. 94 --
Is Mediation Right for You? p. 96 --
Suggesting Mediation to Your Spouse p. 98 --
Choosing a Mediator p. 100 --
Choosing and Working With a Lawyer p. 109 --
Mediation Process p. 110 --
How to Make Your Mediation a Success p. 118 --
After the Mediation, the Paperwork p. 119 --
If Mediation Doesn't Work p. 119 --
5 When You Can't Agree: Contested Divorce and Trial p. 121 --
Finding the Right Lawyer p. 126 --
Paying the Lawyer p. 130 --
Is Fault a Factor? p. 137 --
Gathering Information for Trial: Disclosures, Discovery, and Digging Up Dirt p. 144 --
Settle, Settle, Settle! p. 149 --
Pretrial Conference p. 151 --
Anatomy of a Divorce Trial p. 152 --
After the Trial p. 158 --
6 Custody Decisions and Parenting p. 163 --
Effect of COVID-19 on Custody p. 165 --
Physical and Legal Custody p. 166 --
High Road: Agreeing With Your Spouse on a Parenting Plan p. 167 --
Helping Your Kids Cope With Divorce p. 179 --
Making Shared Parenting Work p. 187 --
Trying to Get Along With Your Ex p. 195 --
When It Comes to Divorce, Grownups Are Kids, Too p. 195 --
7 Custody Disputes p. 197 --
Low Road: Fighting It Out in Court p. 198 --
How Courts Handle Custody Disputes p. 199 --
If the Custodial Spouse Interferes With Visitation p. 211 --
If One Parent Wants to Move Away p. 212 --
Drug and Alcohol Abuse p. 214 --
8 Child Support p. 217 --
Who Pays Support? p. 218 --
Temporary Support While the Divorce Is Pending p. 219 --
Working It Out Yourselves p. 219 --
How Courts Decide Support Amounts p. 221 --
Estimating Child Support in Your Family p. 224 --
How Support Is Paid Each Month p. 226 --
If You're the Recipient: Enforcing Child Support Orders p. 230 --
If You're the Paying Spouse p. 231 --
How Long Support Lasts p. 233 --
If Circumstances Change p. 235 --
Taxes and Your Children p. 237 --
Health Insurance p. 240 --
9 Yours, Mine, and Ours: Basics of Marital Property p. 243 --
Taking Inventory p. 244 --
Property That Gets Divided p. 245 --
Identifying Community Property p. 248 --
Getting Financial Information p. 250 --
Is Your Spouse Hiding Assets? p. 251 --
10 Yours, Mine, and Uncle Sam's: Dividing Property p. 255 --
You're in Control p. 257 --
How Judges Divide Property p. 258 --
What to Do With the House p. 264 --
Dividing Your Other Assets p. 280 --
What to Do With a Family Business p. 289 --
Tax Consequences of How You Divide Property p. 304 --
Retirement Benefits p. 307 --
Money Now and Later p. 315 --
11 Spousal Support and Health Insurance p. 317 --
Basics of Spousal Support p. 319 --
Types of Spousal Support and How Long They Last p. 321 --
How Courts Set the Amount of Support p. 324 --
Negotiating Support With Your Spouse p. 327 --
Planning for Possible Disability or Death of the Supporting Spouse p. 331 --
Changing the Amount of Spousal Support Later p. 332 --
Tax Planning When You Pay or Receive Support p. 334 --
Keeping Health Insurance in Force p. 335 --
12 Military Divorce: Special Issues p. 339 --
Beginning a Divorce p. 341 --
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act p. 347 --
Custody and Visitation p. 348 --
Support for Children and Spouses p. 352 --
Dividing Property p. 358 --
Pensions, Insurance, and Other Benefits p. 358 --
Domestic Violence and Other Abuse p. 368 --
Postdivorce Follow-Up p. 370 --
13 Getting It in Writing: Preparing Your Marital Settlement Agreement p. 371 --
What It Is, What It Does p. 372 --
Creating the Agreement p. 373 --
Consultinga Lawyer p. 394 --
Completing the Paperwork p. 405 --
14 Critical Care: When Things Really Go Wrong p. 407 --
Domestic Violence p. 408 --
15 After the Divorce p. 419 --
You're Not Done Yet: Ten Postdivorce Tasks You Can't Ignore p. 421 --
Modifying Spousal Support p. 438 --
Your Right to Social Security p. 439 --
Dating and New Relationships p. 440 --
Hope Springs Eternal: Remarriage p. 441 --
Getting Help and Helping Yourself p. 443 --
16 Getting Help, Finding Information, and Looking Stuff Up p. 449 --
More Great Books p. 450 --
Getting Divorce Information and Forms p. 454 --
Help With Negotiations p. 457 --
Financial Advice p. 457 --
Document Preparation Services p. 460 --
Other Ways to Look Things Up p. 466.
