We The People's Guide To Divorce: A Do-it-yourself Guide To Reaching An Agreement With Your Spouse And Getting A Hassle-free Divorce

WE THE PEOPLE No lawyers. Save money. We The People is America's largest legal document services company. Dedicated to helping every American avoid the high cost of legal fees, We The People gives you the information you need to handle your own legal filings quickly, easily, and cheaply. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have already liberated themselves from the tyranny of attorneys' fees--and now you can too! If you've already decided not to take each other to the cleaners, why throw money away on legal fees? We The People's Guide to Divorce makes filing for divorce as affordable and painless as possible. This practical, nuts-and-bolts guide covers all the basics and includes extra resources you'll be glad you had--including frequently asked questions, sample forms, a glossary of legal terms, and handy worksheets. Plus, when you purchase We The People's Guide to Divorce, you'll be able to download legal forms to complete your divorce filing. Inside you'll learn all the basics and more: What are grounds for divorce How to handle alimony, child support, and custody Retirement and healthcare benefits Where to find the legal forms you need How to download legal forms you need When hiring an attorney is unavoidable Differences in state divorce law Getting divorced isn't fun, but you can minimize the pain and cost when you and your spouse agree to treat each other fairly and leave the lawyers out of it. Do it right, do it inexpensively, and do it yourself--with We The People's Guide to Divorce. We The People's Guide To Divorce 5 CONTENTS 7 FOREWORD 9 ABOUT THE AUTHORS 11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 13 Introduction 15 Life Is a Series of Transactions 15 Why Some Transactions Are Easy, Others Are Not 16 Help! I Don’t Know How to Do This 16 Divorce: A Commonly Shared Reality 17 In This Book 18 The Story Behind 19 The Future of 19 No Lawyers Means You Save Money 20 Your Future 21 Chapter 1: “I Want a Divorce!” 23 Knowledge Is Power 23 Fundamentals of Family Law 24 What Is Marriage Anyway? 26 What Is Divorce? 28 Do I Need an Attorney? 29 What You Need to Figure Out 32 Types of Divorce 32 Mediation 34 A Glance at the Process 34 Can We Make This Quick and Easy? 36 Property Laws and Your Divorce 39 Conclusion 41 Chapter 2: Grounds (Reasons) for Divorce 43 Whose Fault Is It? 44 Separation 46 Commencing a Separation 54 Getting Back Together 54 The Power of Counseling 55 Annulment 56 Getting Help Right Away 59 Paternity 61 Conclusion 64 Chapter 3: Preparing for Divorce 65 The Talk before the Negotiating 66 The Financial Portrait 67 Living Expenses 69 Projecting Your Future 73 Coming to Agreement 76 Placing a Value on Your Assets 77 Who Gets the House? 83 Who Takes Care of the Debts? 85 Finding a Mediator to Help Out 86 Conclusion 89 Chapter 4: Alimony, Child Support, and Custody 91 Types of Alimony 92 The Children 100 Child Support 107 A Parenting Plan 112 A Note about Taxes 115 Conclusion 116 Chapter 5: Divorce Court 119 The Court System 120 Your Local Divorce Court 121 Preparing Your Paperwork and Filing 125 Default Divorce in Idaho as an Example 133 Changes to Your Divorce Decree and Agreements 139 Temporary Orders 140 Grinding It Out in Court 141 Conclusion 144 Chapter 6: Retirement Benefits, Health Care, and Your Children 147 Taking Stock 148 Social Security 155 Medical or Health Insurance 159 More on the Children 162 Conclusion 166 Chapter 7: Odds and Ends in (Marriage and) Divorce 169 Is My Marriage Even Valid? 170 Palimony 171 Pre-and Postnuptial Contracts 172 Marriage to an Alien 176 Spousal or Child Abuse 178 More Visitation Guidelines for Every Situation Possible 185 The New Relationship 187 Conclusion 188 Chapter 8: Frequently Asked Questions 189 Thinking about Divorce 189 Initiating Divorce 191 Reaching Agreements 194 The Courts 196 Custody, Support, and Visitation Issues 197 Property Issues 199 Other Issues Related to Divorce 201 Chapter 9: Definition of Terms 205 Appendix A: Links to State Divorce Courts 215 Appendix B: We The People Store Addresses 219 Appendix C: Worksheets 225 INDEX 233 Makes filing for divorce as affordable and painless as possible. This guide covers varioius basics and includes resources including frequently asked questions, sample forms, a glossary of legal terms, and handy worksheets. It helps to learn what are grounds for divorce and how to handle alimony, child support, and custody. We The People's do-it-yourself guide to divorceWe The People, the largest legal document services franchise in the United States, gives normal people around the country the tools and advice they need to file paperwork and handle basic legal tasks without hiring an attorney Seldom do people want to utter these words, but they've become frequently spoken and heard in today's world where 50 percent of marriages fail.