Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law: Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Legal Questions

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As a publisher, NOLO does a great job at publishing books that allow everyone access to legal information. Most are written by attorneys, but in language that everyone can understand and benefit from. And while I still believe that there are issues where a person needs to hire an attorney, the books by NOLO allow people to do many things themselves, or to have a better understanding of things when they do hire an attorney. The 8th Edition of "Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law: Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Legal Questions" by Shae Irving, J.D. & the editors of Nolo is a book that will help you do things yourself, and provide a general working knowledge of topics that you might want assistance with from an attorney.

The back of the books says, "Everything you ever wanted to know about the law, but couldn't afford to ask." While maybe not everything, this book does contain a lot of information. Obviously, in an encyclopedia type format, it does not go into depth on the topics, but for a general understanding, it does quite well, and for most people, that's what they will need to know to make informed decisions regarding what to do next when dealing with certain circumstances, or when they just need to know what something means.

The chapters in this book cover many different topics and areas of law, including houses, neighbors, landlords & tenants, workplace rights, small businesses, patents, copyrights, trademarks, your money, cars & driving, wills & estate planning, health care directives & powers of attorney, older Americans, spouses & partners, parents & children, courts & mediation, criminal law & procedure, and the book concludes with a glossary and and appendix on legal research. As I mentioned, this book does not go into any depth on the topics. In fact, you can find entire books, and sometimes volumes of books, on the topics covered in the chapters here. (Nolo has many books on the topics in these chapters)

However, for a concise, single volume, that covers the basics, this is a handy reference. The book is organized well, and the entries are often in the form of question and answer. For instance, in the workplace rights chapter, there is a heading, "Am I entitled to severance pay if I am fired or laid off?" There is then a short answer explaining procedures and rights. The chapters also include references to websites that will provide online help, as well as other book titles that go more in depth on topics.

Overall, this is a very good book if you want a reference that contains a little bit about many areas of law. For quick, general legal questions, this book does a great job of answering them in plain English without legalese. Because the law effects all areas of our lives, this is a handy book to have to assist you with your legal questions.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a writer, speaker, and mediator who teaches how to live, take action, and get things done through the Warrior's Edge. He is an expert on conflict and mediates and teaches conflict resolution and negotiation. Additionally, he teaches physical conflict skills in his Hapkido and Self-Defense courses, lectures, and seminars. Alain is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks, the DVDs Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking series, and numerous articles and reviews. You can read more articles and reviews and see clips of his DVDs as well as much more at http://www.burrese.com/ and http://www.yourwarriorsedge.com/

Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce by Attorney Emily Doskow

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I was speaking with a client this week regarding a business related matter that I am helping him with and he mentioned the expense of his divorce that he had a different attorney handling. He commented that only the attorneys win and they were the ones making money. I mention this, because I really like the message throughout this book that it is to everyone's benefit, and especially that of children, to make the divorce process as civil as possible. If you don't, you may find yourself in a battle such as Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in "The War of the Roses."

To help save money, emotional turmoil, and a lot of time, Nolo's "Essential Guide to Divorce" by Attorney Emily Doskow is a great resource for those facing or going through divorce. The book is full of practical advice regarding the legal side of divorce but does not forget that there is an emotional side to divorce as well. Divorces can be very costly, the small amount paid for this book could save one a lot of time and money.

The book starts out with a discussion on the differences between separation, divorce, annulments, etc. It is a good overview and introduction to the topic. Chapter two then delves into the first steps after you decide to divorce. There is a lot to do and this book helps you sort through what needs to be done when.

Chapter three focuses on Uncontested Divorces, or when you can agree on how you want to divide things and part amicably. If only all divorces could be this easy.

Chapter four is on mediation, or how you can work things out with the help of a mediator. In many states you have to go to a mediation as part of the court process. People can save a lot of money by seeking out a mediator at the onset and working toward resolution early rather than committing to long drawn out fights.

Chapter five covers when you can't agree on things and you have a contested divorce and trial. Chapter six then covers custody decisions and parenting. Chapter seven continues by addressing custody disputes. From there, chapter eight goes into child support.

Chapters nine and ten cover the division of marital property. Chapters eleven covers spousal support and health insurance, while chapter twelve covers special issues with military divorces.

Chapter thirteen focuses on getting it in writing and covers the basics of preparing a marital settlement agreement. Chapter fourteen is an ugly chapter, but a necessary one, that covers issues regarding when things to wrong. Topics such as domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping, and bankruptcy are discussed here.

Chapter fifteen has a lot of information related to after the divorce while chapter sixteen provides a lot of great resources to find additional information and where to get help.

The appendix provides some additional information and some worksheets to assist you with things such as financial inventories, net worth, income and expenses and budgeting.

Being an attorney, I really liked that this book did not tell you to just do everything yourself, but also provided good information on how to find and work with an attorney. Yes, some divorces can be handled by the parties without any assistance, but sometimes having an attorney can really be beneficial. This book will help make those decisions. I will point out that even though this 2nd edition has updated state laws, it is always prudent to research your own state laws and/or discuss with an attorney licensed in your state to ensure laws have not changed.

Rather than spending money on a "Do it Yourself " divorce book, I think anyone considering divorce would benefit from reading this guide and following the excellent advice provided by Emily Doskow. It is well organized and easy to understand. I really wish so many people didn't need this book, but because the divorce rate is so high, it is a good thing Doskow wrote this guide, because it will help a lot of people.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He teaches people to live with the warrior's edge through his writing and speaking on a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com/ and http://bennettlawofficepc.com/.