A valuable guide for exploring alternatives to divorce lawyers.
A debut manual offers advice on navigating the rocky terrain of divorce.
After her marriage of 25 years ended, Mann felt like a “puddle on the floor.” With time, her pain faded, and now, as an advanced divorce mediator in upstate New York, she has helped thousands of others through the difficult process. Divided into five parts, the author’s pragmatic handbook begins with a defense of mediation, calling it a less adversarial, less expensive alternative to hiring a lawyer. A professional mediator, writes Mann, is skilled in conflict resolution, guiding couples as they write a Memorandum of Understanding, which is a nonbinding summary of agreements concerning the division of assets, child custody, and other issues. When the MOU is processed into the legal system, it becomes a Separation and Property Settlement Agreement. Part 2 of the author’s informative read presents basics of the divorce process and the pros and cons of different filing options. For example, some “Do-It-Yourself” businesses help couples process paperwork but they don’t assist with negotiations. Laying out some cold, hard facts, Part 3 deals with financial issues, such as federal taxes during divorce. Part 4 centers on children, including custody issues and co-parenting. And Part 5 gives some upbeat ideas involving self-care and moving on with life after the breakup. Even when discussing thorny issues, Mann’s accessible prose has a calm, mature tone: “The biggest gift you can give your children is permission to have fun and love the other parent and, by extension, the parent’s partner.” Brimming with useful facts, figures, and tools—such as a calculator for determining spousal and child support—the book presents cleareyed tips. In addition, there is an abundance of gentle emotional advice, like how to tell children the marriage is over. While all of this information may seem overwhelming, Mann provides hands-on help for getting started (for example, a bullet-pointed checklist of assets). The worthy appendices include a budget template and resources for further reading.
A valuable guide for exploring alternatives to divorce lawyers.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-692-99456-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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