Guides & Resources
Everything you need to understand your options and plan your next steps.
The Most Important Guides
New to this? Read these first — they cover the critical first steps no matter your situation.
Your First 72 Hours
The most critical steps right after learning your spouse wants a divorce.
Just Been Served Divorce Papers?
Your response deadline, immediate steps, what NOT to do, and how to protect your rights.
Divorce Checklist
Every document, account, and detail you need to gather before filing.
Domestic Violence: Your Safety Plan
Safety planning, protective orders, shelters, VAWA protections, and filing for divorce while in danger.
How to Prepare for Divorce
Strategic planning guide — finances, documents, housing, and support, months before you file.
What You Don't Need to Be Afraid Of
Common divorce fears debunked — your spouse can't just take the kids, change the locks, or leave you with nothing.
Crisis & Safety
Immediate protection when you or your children are at risk.
Financial Abuse During Divorce
Your legal rights when a spouse cuts you off from money and accounts.
Restraining Orders
Emergency, temporary, and permanent protective orders — how to file and what they cover.
Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders (ATROs)
Filed for divorce? ATROs may already protect your assets, insurance, and children. Know what they cover.
Coercive Control in Marriage
Isolation, monitoring, financial control, threats — recognizing the pattern and getting out safely.
Digital Safety During Divorce
Protect your privacy — check for spyware, change passwords, secure your devices and accounts.
Legal Process
Understanding the legal system, your options, and your rights.
How to Choose a Divorce Attorney
Questions to ask, fee structures, and red flags to watch for.
Free Divorce Lawyers & Legal Aid
Top law firms work pro bono. Legal aid, free clinics, law school help, and programs for DV survivors, veterans, and more.
Pro Se (Without Attorney) Guide
When DIY divorce works, how to file, and the critical mistakes to avoid.
Mediation vs. Litigation vs. Collaborative Divorce
Cost comparison, timelines, when each works best, and how to choose the right process.
Does It Matter Who Files First?
Strategic advantages, procedural benefits, and when filing first actually matters.
Legal Separation vs. Divorce
Key differences, benefits of each, religious considerations, and which option is right for you.
Temporary Orders During Divorce
Emergency custody, support, and possession orders that protect you while the divorce is pending.
The Divorce Discovery Process
Interrogatories, depositions, subpoenas, and document requests — how to uncover hidden assets and information.
When Your Spouse Won't Sign
You don't need permission. Default judgment, service by publication, and next steps.
Divorce When Your Spouse Has Disappeared
Service by publication, diligent search requirements, default judgments, and how to move forward.
Divorcing an Incarcerated Spouse
Service of process in prison, custody considerations, and simplified procedures available in some states.
Interstate & Long-Distance Divorce
Jurisdiction rules, UCCJEA, service across state lines, military divorce, and virtual court.
Is Your Divorce Lawyer Dragging Things Out?
Red flags, billing audits, client rights, and when to fire your attorney.
Social Media as Evidence
What courts allow, how posts affect custody, and rules for protecting yourself.
Money & Assets
Protecting your finances, dividing property, and planning ahead.
Protect Your Credit During Divorce
Joint accounts, credit freezes, and rebuilding your financial identity.
When Your Spouse Is Hiding Assets
Common tricks spouses use to hide money and how courts uncover them.
Divorce When You're the Breadwinner
Alimony exposure, business valuation, stock options, retirement division, and minimizing financial impact.
Divorce and Your Business
Business valuation, buyout options, goodwill, operating agreements, and keeping the business running.
Are Divorce Settlements Taxable?
Alimony, property transfers, QDROs, capital gains — the tax rules you need to know.
Cryptocurrency in Divorce
Blockchain forensics, valuation challenges, and tax consequences of crypto assets.
Living Trusts in Divorce
How revocable and irrevocable trusts are divided, and what happens to assets you thought were protected.
Social Security After Divorce
The 10-year rule and how to claim benefits on your ex-spouse's record.
Student Loans in Divorce
Federal vs private loans, consolidation trap, IDR plans, co-signed loans, and PSLF considerations.
Rebuild Your Credit After Divorce
Credit reports, separating finances, building credit from scratch, and a recovery timeline.
Kids & Custody
Protecting your children and navigating co-parenting.
How to Tell Kids About Divorce
Age-appropriate scripts and the things you should never say.
Co-Parenting with a Narcissist
Gray rock method, parallel parenting, BIFF communication, co-parenting apps, and court strategies.
Parental Alienation
Warning signs, documenting alienation, court remedies, reunification therapy, and protecting your bond.
Wait Until the Kids Are Older?
The research on staying together for the kids — and when leaving is actually better for them.
Divorce with Special Needs Children
Custody, support calculations, special needs trusts, therapy continuity, and IEP considerations.
Holidays After Divorce
Surviving the first holiday season — custody schedules, new traditions, and coping strategies.
Who Gets the Pets?
Pet custody laws, state-by-state differences, and how courts decide who keeps the dog.
Planning & Decisions
Strategic moves before and during the divorce process.
How to Tell Your Spouse You Want a Divorce
Scripts, timing, safety planning, and what to prepare before the conversation.
Should I Move Out?
Leaving the family home can affect custody and property rights. Know the risks before you go.
What to Fight For (and What's Not Worth It)
Pick your battles wisely. A practical guide to what matters most and what to let go.
Married Abroad? Divorce Here
Where you married doesn't matter. If you live in the US, you can divorce in the US.
Emotional & Well-Being
Taking care of yourself through the hardest days.
Emotional Phases of Divorce
The 7 stages from shock to acceptance — what to expect and how to cope at each phase.
Divorce Anxiety: Causes, Symptoms & Coping
Physical symptoms, grounding techniques, cognitive strategies, therapy options, and when to seek help.
Self-Care During Divorce
Physical health, mental health, social support, and daily routines to get through the hardest days.
Divorce and Religion
Navigating faith and separation — Catholic annulment, Jewish get, Islamic divorce, and more.
Special Situations
Guides for specific circumstances that change the process.
Stay-at-Home Mom's Rights
Alimony, property, custody — what you are really entitled to.
Gray Divorce (Over 50)
Retirement division, Social Security strategies, and starting over after decades.
Same-Sex Divorce
Unique challenges for LGBTQ+ couples: parentage, pre-Obergefell marriages, and more.
Divorce While Pregnant
State restrictions, paternity presumptions, temporary support, and custody planning.
Divorcing a Spouse with Addiction
Custody impacts, financial devastation, marital waste, and protecting yourself and your children.
Divorcing a Spouse with Mental Illness
Custody concerns, competency issues, safety planning, and compassionate boundaries.
Life After Divorce
Rebuilding your life, finances, and identity.
Post-Divorce Name Change
Getting it in the decree, updating every document, and when to keep your married name.
Divorce & Estate Planning
Wills, life insurance, 401k beneficiaries, and powers of attorney — what to update.
Insurance After Divorce
Health, auto, home, and life insurance — COBRA, marketplace options, and updating beneficiaries.
Post-Divorce Living Arrangements
Housing options, mortgage qualification, renting, downsizing, and rebuilding your living situation.
Dating After Divorce
Emotional readiness, legal risks, introducing kids, online dating safety, and trusting again.
When Your Ex Starts Dating
Why it hurts, legal implications, protecting your kids, and processing jealousy constructively.
When Can I Remarry?
Waiting periods, state rules, and what you need to know before walking down the aisle again.
Going Back to School After Divorce
FAFSA as a single filer, grants, scholarships, workforce programs, and balancing school with single parenting.
State-Specific Guides
Divorce laws vary by state. Find guidance specific to your state.
International Guides
Going through divorce outside the US? Find country-specific guidance.
International Divorce Guides
Country-specific guides for divorce laws around the world.
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