Books : Nonfiction : Law : Family & Health Law : Domestic Relations

Avoid custody battles -- save time, money and grief.

Working out a fair and realistic child-custody agreement is one of the most difficult tasks for parents going through a divorce or separation. Building a Parenting Agreement That Works is the only book to show separating or divorcing parents how to overcome obstacles and create win-win custody agreements.

A professional mediator, author Mimi Lyster sets out 40 issues separating parents typically face, and presents all the options to resolving them. The book walks you through all the factors you must consider, including:

Relied on by generations of law school students, Emanuel Law Outlines include detailed reviews of critical issues and key topics, short answer questions, Q&A's, and correlation charts referencing leading casebooks.

Family law draws from constitutional law as well as from criminal law, conflict laws, and the laws of contracts, torts, property, inheritance, and even taxation. This comprehensive review inspects the creation of marriage relationships, spousal rights and obligations, parent and child relationships, marriage termination, and the economic consequences of divorce.

The most practical-- and legal -- companion through divorce ever published.

Like most people who are going through a separation or divorce, you're probably wondering "What's next?" at every turn.

So turn to Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce for clear answers that can help make your divorce simpler and reduce your expenses. With compassion and understanding, Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce will help you:

Part of the Queer Ideas series, edited by Michael Bronski
QUEER IDEAS—a new series of LGBT hardcovers that address important intellectual questions facing the movement.

The debate over marriage equality for same-sex couples rages across the country. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage boldly moves the discussion forward by focusing on the larger, more fundamental issue of marriage and the law. The root problem, asserts law professor and LGBT rights activist Nancy Polikoff, is that marriage is a bright dividing line between those relationships that legally matter and those that don't. A woman married to a man for nine months is entitled to Social Security survivor's benefits when he dies; a woman living for nineteen years with a man or woman to whom she is not married receives nothing.

Polikoff reframes the debate by arguing that all family relationships and households need the economic stability and emotional peace of mind that now extend only to married couples. Unmarried couples of any sexual orientation, single-parent households, extended family units, and myriad other familial configurations need recognition and protection to meet the concerns they all share: building and sustaining economic and emotional interdependence, and nurturing the next generation.

Couples should have the choice to marry based on the spiritual, cultural, or religious meaning of marriage in their lives, asserts Polikoff. While marriage equality for same-sex couples is a civil rights victory, she contends that no one should have to marry in order to reap specific and unique legal results.

A persuasive argument that married couples should not receive special rights denied to other families, Polikoff shows how the law can value all families, and why it must.

"A much-needed intervention in the contemporary debate about marriage and family. Polikoff's argument is provocative, illuminating, and original."
—John D'Emilio, author of Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin

"Polikoff mobilizes an impressive array of legal history and contemporary court cases to show how marriage, whether same-sex or heterosexual, has ceased to be the only place where people incur long-term obligations. She argues vigorously that our society needs to find new ways of determining when legally-enforceable responsibilities and entitlements have accrued in interpersonal relationships."
—Stephanie Coontz, author, Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage

"This book really matters. It is brilliant and thoughtful, not simply about a set of laws, but as a manifesto to transform the way we understand, recognize and respect the reality of our diverse and complex family compositions. Polikoff grounds her arguments in the 35 year history of social change activism in this country to construct a passionate and nuanced argument for expanding our same sex marriage activism to include all of the ways people love, form families and build community."
—Amber Hollibaugh, Senior Strategist, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and author of My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming her Way Home

"Passionate but completely grounded in reality, Polikoff challenges LGBT rights advocates to see beyond gay equality arguments and question the fundamental fairness of limiting family recognition based on marriage, gay or straight. It is a powerful call for social justice."
—Nan D. Hunter, founder of the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project and Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School

"A provocative and perspicuous intervention in one of the most devilish recent debates in U.S. law and politics…In a principled yet pragmatic analysis, Polikoff mounts a compelling case against the continued grip of 'conjugalism' on our family law and policy. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage challenges us to imagine and build a political consensus that respects the realities of contemporary American kinship and family life, in all its complexity."
—Kendall Thomas, Nash Professor of Law, Columbia University

It's all about getting even. We all know that women earn less than men, and unfortunately this also applies to the spoils of divorce. Veteran trial attorney and former divorce lawyer Stacy Schneider, Esq., knows what it takes to get women their fair share, and now, using examples from her own practice and her own divorce, she is making the strategies that worked for her available to you!

In a single handbook, He Had It Coming answers your questions, calms your nerves, and walks you through the process with confidence and control. Centered around her one-of-a-kind Pre-Divorce Plan, Schneider guides you through a divorce lawsuit, revealing insider information, divorce success secrets, and tactics, including:

•the answer to the number one question asked by wives on the verge of divorce
•crucial planning measures to implement before the papers are filed
•a hidden asset search plan to help make sure you don't walk away with less than you deserve
•tried-and-true stealth negotiation techniques to get you what you want
•how you can possibly save thousands of dollars by handling aspects of divorce yourself
•the way to hit a cheating spouse in his wallet.

Packed with checklists, strategic tips, sample practice dialogues, and firsthand pointers, He Had It Coming is the ultimate companion guide for any woman changing her "I do" to an "I don't."

For the millions of couples who face divorce each year, The Smart Divorce offers an alternative to court without giving up getting what you want

Research reveals that how a couple conducts themselves during a divorce has far greater impact on their children than the divorce itself. Compassionate, clear, and comprehensive, The Smart Divorce is the first trade book to introduce a dignified, highly strategic solution to divorce-the collaborative process, a nationally acclaimed approach that is fast transforming how couples dissolve their marriages, divide their assets, and reinvent their post divorce relationships, particularly when they share custody of their children.

Based on the central tenet that both participants agree to resolve their differences with no intention of ever going to court, the collaborative process focuses on finding common interests while allowing each person in the couple to hire active legal representation. Stressing cooperation over confrontation and resolution over revenge, the smart divorce is beneficial in that it is generally less expensive and quicker than litigation, gives the couple greater control over the outcome of their divorce, and keeps children out of the controversy.

Guiding readers through the steps of the collaborative process so that they may make better, more informed decisions, The Smart Divorce isn't about "going easy" on your spouse. It's about ending up with more money, less stress, and happier kids without going to court.

Walk Away From Divorce with Financial Security

Family lawyer Gayle Rosenwald Smith has designed this thoroughly researched, practical, and easy-to-read guide to help the reader through difficult, emotional, and often overwhelming divorce processes. She comprehensively explains the financial issues that can impact divorce and, most importantly, tells the reader what they can do to better understand their situation and how to take proper action.

Included are effective tools and strategies to:

€ Choose the best lawyers, financial advisors, and more
€ Track assets with checklists and charts
€ Evaluate and understand stock options and other "perks"
€ Prepare a budget and expense sheets
€ Value business, pension plans, and retirement funds-401(k)s, IRAs, and more
€ Understand the importance of insurance in divorce
€ Determine the best course of action for the family home and other property
€ Get a good property settlement agreement
€ Ensure your future financial security and economic well being