The decision to divorce is never an easy one. This completely revised and updated second edition prepares you for the challenges that lie ahead. Attorney Milinda J. Reed gives you an advantage in the courtroom and prepares you for your new life. Readers will gain information and advice to help them: Determine if divorce is the right course of action; Choose whether or not to hire a lawyer; Manage custody issues; Handle pretrial stages and hearings; Interpret and execute the judge's ruling; and more. This informative guide, written in plain, understandable language, unravels and simplifies this complicated process so readers can get through it--with their sanity intact. This edition also includes completely new material on: considering a separation before deciding to divorce; whether one needs a lawyer (includes tips for representing yourself); custody and visitation, child support and spousal maintenance, and preparing for and getting through the trial; special cases (domestic violence, mental health issues, etc.); and the emotions of divorce and how to deal with them.