The Good Divorce: How to Walk Away Financially Sound and Emotionally Happy Book

Authors' Note vii

Introduction Raoul Felder ix

Introduction Barbara Victor xv

Part 1 Dance of Death

1 Starting Over 3

2 What Men and Women Expect Out of Marriage 14

3 Knowing When to Call It Quits 22

4 Choosing the Right Lawyer 32

5 When to Run, Not Walk, out of a Lawyer's Office 43

6 Mediation 52

7 Clients from Hell 57

8 Pendente Lite 71

9 The Wildenstein Case 85

10 Fear, Rage, Blame-How to Ruin a Good Divorce 90

Part 2 The Equality Myth

11 Family Court and Supreme Court 105

12 Voices from the Bench 119

13 The Gender Equality Myth 133

14 Separate and Commingled Funds 150

15 Grounds for Divorce 157

16 "Fair" Is a Four-Letter Word 171

Part 3 Children

17 Custody and Child Support 183

18 Child Abuse 197

19 Child Abduction 208

Part 4 History of Love, Marriage, and Divorce

20 Then and Now 219

21 Marital Rape and Crime of Passion 231

Part 5 Happily Ever After

22 Preparing for the End in the Beginning 247

23 Will the Real Me Please Stand Up? 261

Appendix A Sample Intake Questionnaire 269

Appendix B Sample Prenuptial Agreement 273

Index 285