Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce - Emily Doskow [50]
Is Fault a Factor? ..........................................................................................................................126
Getting Started ............................................................................................................................129
Getting Your Financial Information Together ......................................................... 129
Temporary Orders ..................................................................................................................129
Going to Court .........................................................................................................................131
Gathering Information for Trial: Disclosures, Discovery, and Digging Up Dirt .....................................................................................133
Mandatory Disclosures ........................................................................................................133
Requesting Information ......................................................................................................134
Is Your Spouse Hiding Assets? ..........................................................................................136
Witness Lists ..............................................................................................................................136
Evidence of Fault and Other Wrongdoing ................................................................137
Settle, Settle, Settle! .................................................................................................................137
Negotiating Along the Way: Written Settlement Offers ................................... 138
Last-Minute Negotiations: Settlement Conference .............................................. 138
Evaluating Settlement Offers ...........................................................................................139
The Pretrial Conference ..........................................................................................................140
Anatomy of a Divorce Trial ..................................................................................................141
Opening Statements ............................................................................................................142
Petitioner's Case: Evidence and Testimony .............................................................. 142
Respondent's Case: Evidence and Testimony .........................................................144
Petitioner's Rebuttal .............................................................................................................144
Respondent's Surrebuttal ..................................................................................................144
Testimony From a Child's Lawyer or Custody Evaluator ...................................144
Closing Arguments ...............................................................................................................145
The Judge's Ruling ..................................................................................................................145
After the Trial ................................................................................................................................145
Attorneys' Fees .........................................................................................................................145
The End Result, in Writing ..................................................................................................146
Appeals .........................................................................................................................................146
Picking Up the Pieces ............................................................................................................147
contested divorce is one in which you and your spouse can't agree on the big issues-and most likely, the small ones, either-so you hire lawyers to fight it out for you. You may end up settling, after your lawyers