Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-16
Summary: "Easy to Understand Guide about a Difficult Subject"

It goes without saying that when you got married you really meant till death do you part. You'd met your soul mate, you were gonna make a life together and it was going to be heaven on earth. But sometimes people change. Sometimes things don't work out the way you'd thought they were going to. Sometimes people make mistakes. Sometimes stuff happens. Sometimes divorce is the only option.

And if you find that's the case with you, then this book is a good place to see what you've in for, especially if children are involved. However, if children are involved I'd urge you to try extra hard to make your marriage work, but maybe you can't. If that's the case I highly recommend that you get this book and read what Emily Doskow has to say about taking the high road, even if you feel that you are the wronged party, because even though you're divorcing your spouse, you're not divorcing your children.

Ms. Doskow walks you through everything you should do and consider before divorcing, during the proceedings and afterwards, when you've come out on the other end. She does it with compassion in her words and without talking down to you. And, most importantly, she does it in laymen's terms. Lord I hate those books you gotta be a lawyer to understand, that is not the case here. This is a good and useful book about a difficult subject that is easy to understand. It really is an essential guide to divorce.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-06-25
Summary: "A Must Read for those interested in the Divorce Process."

If you're going through a divorce and don't know what steps to take, this is the book for you. I feel that the advice given in this book is sound and helpful. The reason I feel this way is because the book suggests that you try mediation before going to court. Mediation can save you a lot of time and money, because lawyers are expensive and court costs can be cut by 95%. If a couple decides to split amicably, then all the bad baggage that comes along with divorce will have little to no affect on them. This book also tells you how the best way possible to navigate the divorce process. I would recommend this book to anyone who is going through or wants to read up on the divorce process.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-05-19
Summary: "What if Divorce is the Only Option?"

What if you came home from a business trip and saw a few blonde hairs on your pillow and you're a brunette? What if your guy is all of a sudden bringing you flowers and he's never done that before? Or maybe he's not having an affair, maybe he's just grown away from you or you from him. What if you rushed into marriage and it's a couple years on and you want to rush out?

Or what if you've met that special person and it's not your husband? Or what if he has and he's just told you? What if all of a sudden you just plain can't stand the way the man smells in the morning or his awful singing in the shower? What if you're a cat person and he's a dog person? What if you argue all the time and don't know why? What if you really like each other, but you're horrible in bed together?

What if for whatever reason divorce is the only option?

If that's the case, then this is a good book for you, because it explains just about everything about divorce anybody would ever want to know. This book will help work you through it and come out on the other side without hating each other.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-01-29
Summary: "Clear, Concise, Easy to Understand"

First off let me say I'm not getting or looking to get a divorce. I've been happily married forever and intend to go on that way. However, I'm a writer and I have a character who is going through divorce. Usually when I do a character, I just ask a lot of questions of people who are similar to the person I'm writing about. If I'm doing a cop, I talk to cops.

But divorce is a painful subject and I really didn't want to probe my friends who've gone though it about it. After all, I don't really want to be an expert on the subject and I sure as heck don't want to dredge up anybody's pain, though I have some friends who are more than willing to talk about the witch they'd shed themselves of. But that's not really what I was after.

So I bought this book. Originally I just planned on reading the parts I thought might be relevant to the character I was creating, but once I started it, I read straight through. I don't know why, I just did. Got interested I suppose. And I'm here to say there is a lot of stuff here. If you're getting a divorce, you need this book. There's a lot to consider, kids, property, alimony (heaven forbid), lots of stuff. And for me this book has added life and breath to a minor character and given him a larger part in the book.

I can remember all those text books I had to wade though with the help of little white pills called bennies or whites all those years ago when I was in college. If the writers of those books would have been as clear, concise and as interesting as Ms. Doskow I wouldn't have had to meet nefarious characters in strange places on dark nights just so I could get the stuff that would keep me awake through dry textbooks that tried so hard to put me to sleep.

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2009-12-22
Summary: "A good general guide to the legal process of divorce."

Divorce law varies widely by state and becomes even more complicated when interstate issues are involved, as they often are these days. Nolo's Guide to Divorce can't cover all these different contexts, but it is a great guide to the process of a divorce generally. It will, as advertised, save you some money in attorney's fees if you use it. But, I think the most valuable thing it does for clients is get them up to speed enough to choose a good attorney. I would not recommend that people undertake their own divorces because I've seen what happens when divorces go wrong. For example, a new client of mine just found out he isn't actually divorced because they forgot to file the signed decree of divorce. Any competent attorney would have caught that. Of course, you want to find the best lawyer you can afford.

Nolo's guide gives you a decent idea of what a divorce can cost and how complicated your particular divorce may be. You'll also learn what kind of questions to ask when interviewing attorneys. That is critical! A good lawyer will save you money and time and hassle by being efficient. Where even good lawyers tend to fall down is on communication with their clients. Particularly in family law, where fees are billed hourly, lawyers tend to view non-legal communication as something to avoid. No client is happy to get a $100 bill for that time they broke down in tears on the phone worrying about whether they'd lose their kids. No lawyer wants to submit a giant bill the client can't afford. But, inevitably in divorces, client communication becomes an issue. The attorney has to bill for work time lost and has to keep the client happy and usually doesn't get that mix just right. Nolo helps here, too.

I am not a family attorney. I avoid it like the plague. I learned that, however, only after trying to help out some friends with their divorces. Bad call on my part, but this guide actually helped. I gave a copy to one of my friends who just wouldn't stop calling with what seemed like very basic questions. After she got the guide, she called less because she had a better idea of the process. Our conversations also became more productive because the guide helps people get their info together and understand why its needed.

So, while it is no substitute for good legal advice, this guide is useful for anyone involved in a divorce and I recommend it, in particular, for people who are considering divorce but haven't hired an attorney. Know what you're getting into before you pull that trigger. And good luck!