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Introduction: Your Divorce Companion | |
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Getting Oriented | |
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Taking the High Road | |
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Separation or Divorce? | |
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Annulment | |
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Family Court | |
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Kinds of Divorces | |
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Property, Custody, and Support | |
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Getting Help From Experts | |
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First Steps After You Decide to Divorce | |
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Breaking the News | |
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Where Will Everyone Live? | |
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Gathering Financial Information | |
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Managing Your Family's Money | |
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Getting Legal and Other Professional Help Early | |
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Taking Care of Yourself | |
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When You Can Agree: Uncontested Divorce | |
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Basics of the Uncontested Divorce | |
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Summary Dissolution for Short-Term Marriages | |
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Default Divorce | |
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Preparing and Filing Legal Papers | |
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How the Other Spouse Can Respond | |
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Negotiating a Settlement and Preparing a Marital Settlement Agreement | |
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Finalizing Your Uncontested Divorce | |
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Working It Out: Divorce Mediation | |
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Why Divorce Mediation Works | |
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What Does Mediation Cost? | |
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Is Mediation Right for You? | |
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Suggesting Mediation to Your Spouse | |
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Choosing a Mediator | |
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Choosing and Working With a Lawyer | |
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The Mediation Process | |
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How to Make Your Mediation a Success | |
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After the Mediation, the Paperwork | |
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If Mediation Doesn't Work | |
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When You Can't Agree: Contested Divorce arid Trial | |
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Finding the Right Lawyer | |
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Paying the Lawyer | |
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Is Fault a Factor? | |
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Getting Started | |
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Gathering Information for Trial: Disclosures, Discovery, and Digging Up Dirt | |
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Settle, Settle, Settle! | |
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The Pretrial Conference | |
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Anatomy of a Divorce Trial | |
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After the Trial | |
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Custody Decisions and Parenting | |
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Physical and Legal Custody | |
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The High Road: Agreeing With Your Spouse on a Parenting Plan | |
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Helping Your Kids Cope With Divorce | |
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Making Shared Parenting Work | |
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Trying to Get Along With Your Ex | |
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When It Comes to Divorce, Grownups Are Kids, Too | |
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Custody Disputes | |
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The Low Road: Fighting It Out in Court | |
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How Courts Handle Custody Disputes | |
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If the Custodial Spouse Interferes With Visitation | |
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If One Parent Wants to Move Away | |
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Drug and Alcohol Abuse | |
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Child Support | |
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Who Pays Support? | |
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Temporary Support While the Divorce Is Pending | |
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Working It Out Yourselves | |
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How Courts Decide Support Amounts | |
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Estimating Child Support in Your Family | |
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How Support Is Paid Each Month | |
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If You're the Recipient: Enforcing Child Support Orders | |
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If You're the Paying Spouse | |
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How Long Support Lasts | |
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If Circumstances Change | |
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Taxes and Your Children | |
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Health Insurance | |
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Yours, Mine, and Ours: Basics of Marital Property | |
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Taking Inventory | |
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What Property Gets Divided | |
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Identifying Community Property | |
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Getting Financial Information | |
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Is Your Spouse Hiding Assets? | |
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Yours, Mine, and Uncle Sam's: Dividing Property | |
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You're in Control | |
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How Judges Divide Property | |
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What to Do With the House | |
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Dividing Your Other Assets | |
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What to Do With a Family Business | |
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Dividing Debt | |
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Tax Consequences of How You Divide Property | |
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Retirement Benefits | |
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Money Now and Later | |
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Spousal Support and Health Insurance | |
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Types of Spousal Support and How Long They Last | |
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How Courts Set the Amount of Support | |
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Negotiating Support With Your Spouse | |
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Planning for Possible Disability or Death of the Supporting Spouse | |
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Changing the Amount of Spousal Support Later | |
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Tax Planning When You Pay or Receive Support | |
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Keeping Health Insurance in Force | |
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Military Divorce: Special Issues | |
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Beginning a Divorce | |
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The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act | |
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Custody and Visitation | |
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Support for Children and Spouses | |
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Dividing Property | |
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Pensions, Insurance, and Other Benefits | |
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Tax Issues | |
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Domestic Violence and Other Abuse | |
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Postdivorce Follow-Up | |
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Resources | |
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Getting It in Writing: Preparing Your Marital Settlement Agreement | |
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What It Is, What It Does | |
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Creating the Agreement | |
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Negotiations | |
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Doing the Math | |
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Consulting a Lawyer | |
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Completing the Paperwork | |
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Critical Care: When Things Really Go Wrong | |
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Domestic Violence | |
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Child Abuse | |
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Kidnapping | |
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Bankruptcy | |
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After the Divorce | |
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You're Not Done Yet: Ten Postdivorce Tasks You Can't Ignore | |
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The Kid Connection | |
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Modifying Spousal Support | |
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Your Right to Social Security | |
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Dating and New Relationships | |
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Hope Springs Eternal: Remarriage | |
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Getting Help and Helping Yourself | |
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Getting Help, Finding Information, and Looking Stuff Up | |
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More Great Books | |
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Getting Divorce Information and Forms | |
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Help With Negotiations | |
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Financial Advice | |
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Document Preparation Services | |
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Legal Advice | |
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Other Ways to Look Things Up | |
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Appendix | |
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Index | |