The fact is, there is no requirement by law that you must hire a divorce attorney to handle your divorce. There are both pros and cons to having this representation; however it is ultimately a personal decision that each person must make for themselves. Use the following guide to determine if you should hire an attorney for your divorce proceedings.

Getting a divorce is an emotional blow that can leave both parties equally devastated. However, for some the financial blow can be even worse, especially if one party has been out of work for an extended period of time. In order to combat this problem spousal support, also known as alimony is paid for support during this transitional period of time. Although the guidelines used to determine the amount of alimony differs from state to state, there are still some general guidelines that are used.

The amount of child support you can expect to receive is dependent on several factors, including the state you live in. There are two basic methods of calculating child support payments, which include:

• Calculated based on the amount of income that both parents receive.
• Calculated based on the amount of income that the non-custodial parent receives.

Divorce is no doubt a stressful and overwhelming situation for all the parties involved. However, as a woman you may find the situation especially emotionally draining, causing you to forget or eliminate important steps that should be taken during the divorce proceedings. The following divorce checklist for women is designed to specifically help women through this difficult time by ensuring they take the proper and necessary steps to successfully and efficiently handle their divorce.

There are four phases involved with the divorce process. Each phase will require cooperation from all parties involved. If a divorce is amicable, the process is fairly simple and will be handled smoothly. However, if there is any contesting the terms, the process can get more complicated causing the need for involvement from divorce mediators or even divorce lawyers.

Getting a divorce may be more complex depending on the variety of assets you have obtained as a couple. From deciding who gets the house and cars to determining ownership in shared investments and companies there are many decisions as to who gets what in a divorce that have to be made during a divorce settlements. Working through the distribution of assets can be one of the longest parts of the divorce process depending on the specifics of your assets as well as the amicability of both parties. Here is some general information on how assets are typically split:

Completing the filing process is only the beginning step in getting a divorce. Often you will face mediation sessions guided by a divorce mediator, have classes you have to attend, and may even be required to complete other steps as determined by the judge before your divorce becomes final. When everything has been completed, the final divorce paperwork is presented to the judge and he will sign the divorce decree granting the final divorce. This process can often take months to even years to complete depending on your individual situation. Here are the general steps you must complete before your divorce is final:

The decision to divorce is never an easy one and always brings with it many questions and situations that must be resolved. One of the most common questions that are brought up is deciding when divorce is the answer and determining when is the best time to divorce. Here are some of the important things you should consider when choosing the right timing for divorce:

Deciding to get a divorce can be an agonizing decision, but often once the decision is made you wish it would be settled quickly. Divorce can seem to take a very long time and be quite a complex process. Here are some of the main reasonswhy divorce can take so long:

As many people may know, American has the highest percentage of divorce in the world. Compared to some countries, America even has more than double the divorce rate. That could be becauseAmericans have more freedom to do what they want to do. However, it could also be related to the fact that Americans do not put as much value on making a relationship work. Whatever the reasons, thedivorce rates are alarmingly high. Here are the top eight factors that couples say made them get adivorce.