"Divorce is never easy, but with the information in Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce, you can make the process as simple, inexpensive, and conflict-free as possible. With compassion and expertise, family law attorney Emily Doskow explains how to make divorce less painful by helping you: understand the divorce process; minimize day-to-day conflict with your spouse; work with lawyers or mediators without breaking the bank; avoid costly, exhausting court battles, and stay calm and make good decisions. You'll learn about your legal rights and options for resolving tough divorce-related issues, including:: child support and custody, alimony, property division, and drafting a marital settlement agreement. The 7th edition is completely updated with the latest state rules on divorce, such as property division and grounds for divorce"--Back cover.

"Learn your legal rights and options. Divide property fairly, protect your children, avoid expensive court battles."--Cover.

Introduction : Your divorce companion -- Getting oriented -- First steps after you decide to divorce -- When you can agree : uncontested divorce -- Working it out : divorce mediation -- When you can't agree : contested divorce and trial -- Custody decisions and parenting -- Custody disputes -- Child support -- Yours, mine, and ours : basics of marital property -- Yours, mine, and Uncle Sam's : dividing property -- Spousal support and health insurance -- Military divorce : special issues -- Getting it in writing : preparing your marital settlement agreement -- Critical care : when things really go wrong -- After the divorce -- Getting help, finding information, and looking stuff up -- Appendix.