Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law Phần 8 doc

S P O U S E S A N D P A R T N E R S

15.25

I’ve heard some divorces take

months or even years to become

final. Is there a way I can get

child support and access to the

family’s more reliable car during

this time?

If you’ve already decided to obtain a

divorce, and you have financial or

child-rearing concerns, you may benefit from a pendente lite action, which

literally means “pending the litigation.” In a pendente lite procedure, a

court may sign orders providing for

temporary alimony, child support and

asset distribution if appropriate. A

lawyer is usually involved because the

paperwork can be complicated. A

pendente lite order lasts until it is

modified by the final divorce judgment and can even act to set the tone

for the final divorce order if situations

such as custody and money arrangements are functioning satisfactorily

during the time the divorce is being

settled.

More Information

About Divorce

How to Do Your Own Divorce in California,

by Charles Sherman (Nolo Occidental),

contains step-by-step instructions for obtaining a California divorce without a lawyer.

How to Do Your Own Divorce in Texas, by

Charles Sherman (Nolo Occidental),

contains step-by-step instructions for obtaining a Texas divorce without a lawyer.

by one spouse before the marriage remains his or her separate property

during the marriage, although a portion of it may be considered community property if the business increased

in value during the marriage or both

spouses contributed to its worth.

Property purchased with a combination of separate and community funds

is part community and part separate

property, so long as a spouse is able to

show that some separate funds were

used. Separate property mixed together

with community property generally

becomes community property.

My spouse and I are thinking of

using a divorce mediator. Is

there anything we should know

before we begin the process?

More and more couples are turning to

mediation in order to negotiate divorce agreements. Mediation almost

always takes less time, is less expensive and results in a more solid agreement than using a lawyer to take the

case to court. Of course, every divorcing spouse should know and understand his or her legal rights before

agreeing to a settlement, even one

reached through mediation. You

might want to consult a lawyer or do

some independent legal research early

in the process and then have a lawyer

review the agreement before signing.

(See Chapter 17, Courts and Mediation,

for general information on mediation

and Chapter 16, Parents and Children,

for more information on mediating

disputes about child custody and visitation.)

N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a o f E v e r y d a y L a w

15.26

Do Your Own Divorce in Oregon, by Robin

Smith (Nolo), provides easy-to-use forms and

step-by-step instructions for handling a noncontested divorce in Oregon.

Using Divorce Mediation: Save Your

Money & Your Sanity, by Katherine E.

Stoner (Nolo), provides divorcing couples

with all the information they need to work

with a neutral third party to resolve

differences and find solutions.

Divorce & Money: How to Make the Best

Financial Decisions During Divorce, by

Violet Woodhouse with Dale Fetherling

(Nolo), explains the financial aspects of

divorce and how to divide property fairly.

Annulment: Your Chance to Remarry

Within the Catholic Church, by Joseph P.

Zwack (Harper & Row), explains how to

get a religious annulment.

Domestic

Violence

Domestic violence occurs more often

than most of us realize. Those who are

abused range in age from children to

the elderly, and come from all backgrounds and income levels. The

majority of those subjected to domestic violence are women abused by

men, but women also abuse other

women, men abuse men and women

abuse men. If you’re being hurt at

home, the first rule of advice is to get

away from the abuser and go to a safe

place where he or she cannot find you.

Then, find out about your options for

getting help.

What kind of behavior is

considered domestic violence?

Domestic violence can take a number

of forms, including:

• physical behavior such as slapping,

punching, pulling hair or shoving

• forced or coerced sexual acts or

behavior such as unwanted fondling

or intercourse, or jokes and insults

aimed at sexuality

• threats of abuse—threatening to hit,

harm or use a weapon on another, or

to tell others confidential information, and

• psychological abuse—attacks on

self-esteem, controlling or limiting

another’s behavior, repeated insults

and interrogation.

Typically, many kinds of abuse go

on at the same time in a household.

Finding a Safe Place

Many communities have temporary

homes called battered women’s shelters

where women and their children who are

victims of domestic violence may stay until

the crisis passes or until they are able to

find a permanent place to relocate. The

best way to find these shelters is to consult

the local police, welfare department,

neighborhood resource center or women’s

center. You can also look in your phone

S P O U S E S A N D P A R T N E R S

15.27

graphs. You can also bring in a witness, such as a friend or relative, to

testify to the abuse. Judges are often

available to issue TROs after normal

business hours because violence certainly occurs at times other than between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Programs for Abusive

Men

A number of programs have been

established to help abusive men change

their behavior. You can get more

information from the following

organizations:

Men Overcoming Violence (MOVE)

1385 Mision Street, Suite 300

San Francisco, CA 94103

415-626-6683

http://www.menovercomingviolence.org

Abusive Men Exploring New Directions

(AMEND)

2727 Bryant Street, Suite 350

Denver, CO 80211

303-832-6363

http://www.amendonline.org

Men Stopping Violence

1020 DeKalb Avenue, Suite 25

Atlanta, GA 30307

404-688-1376

http://www.menstoppingviolence.org

In my community, judges don’t

issue TROs after 5 p.m. How

can I get protection?

Contact your local police department.

In many communities, the police can

issue something called an emergency

book under Crisis Intervention Services,

Human Service Organizations, Social

Service Organizations, Family Services,

Shelters or Women’s Organizations. In

some states, the police are required to

provide an apparent battering victim a list

of referrals for emergency housing, legal

services and counseling services.

If you’re having trouble finding resources in your area, you can contact the

National Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-

799-SAFE (7233), 800-787-3224 (TTY),

http://www.ndvh.org.

If I leave, how can I make sure

the abuser won’t come near me

again?

The most powerful legal tool for stopping domestic violence is the temporary

restraining order (TRO). A TRO is a

decree issued by a court that requires

the perpetrator to stop abusing you. The

order may require, for example, that the

perpetrator stay away from the family

home, where you work or go to school,

your children’s school and other places

you frequent (such as a particular

church). The order will also prohibit

further acts of violence.

Many states make it relatively easy

for you to obtain a TRO. In New

York, California and some other

states, for example, the court clerk

will hand you a package of forms and

will even assist you in filling them

out. In other areas, nonlawyers may be

available to help you complete the

forms. When you’ve completed your

forms, you’ll go before a judge to

show evidence of the abuse, such as

hospital or police records or photo-

N o l o ’ s E n c y c l o p e d i a o f E v e r y d a y L a w

15.28

protective order when court is out of

session. An emergency protective order usually lasts only for a brief period

of time, such as a weekend or a holiday, but otherwise it is the same as a

temporary restraining order. On the

next business day, you will need to go

to court to obtain a TRO.

Are TROs and emergency

protective orders only available

when the abuser is a spouse?

No, in most states, the victim of an

abusive live-in lover, even of the same

sex, can obtain a TRO or emergency

protective order. In a few states, the

victim of any adult relative, an abusive

lover (non-live-in) or even a roommate

can obtain such an order. In some

states, if non-romantic victims and

abusers do not live in the same household, the domestic violence laws do

not apply. However, in this situation,

other criminal laws may come into

play. To learn about your state’s rule,

contact a local crisis intervention center, social service organization or battered women’s shelter.

Help for Abused

Gay Men and Lesbians

The following organizations provide

information and support for battered

gay men and lesbians:

Go to this site, http://www.rainbow

domesticviolence.itgo.com, for

research and links on domestic

violence in the gay and lesbian

community.

The National Domestic Violence

Hotline, at 800-799-SAFE is a

national toll-free number that

provides information to callers (gay

and straight) about shelters and

assistance programs in their area.

You can also check out the hotline’s

website at http://www.ndvh.org.

The Lambda Gay & Lesbian AntiViolence Project (AVP), has a

website at http://www.lambda.org,

and their address is P.O. Box

31321, El Paso, TX 79931-0321.

The telephone number for the

Lambda Anti-Violence Project is

916-562-GAYS.

The New York City Gay & Lesbian

Anti-Violence Project maintains a

website at http://www.avp.org,

and their 24-hour hotline number is

212-714-1141.

San Francisco’s Community United

Against Violence has a hotline at

415-333-HELP, and their website

address is http://www.cuav.org.

Massachusetts residents can contact

the Gay Men’s Domestic Violence

Project at 800-832-1901. Their

website is located at http://

www.gmdvp.org.

S P O U S E S A N D P A R T N E R S

15.29

What should I do once I have

a TRO?

the communities in which the abuser

has been ordered to stay away from

you—where you live, work, attend

school or church and where your children go to school. Call the appropriate

police stations for information about

how to register your order.

What if the abuse continues

even if I have a TRO?

Obviously, a piece of paper cannot

stop an enraged spouse or lover from

acting violent, although many times

it is all the deterrent the person

needs.

If the violence continues, contact

the police. They can take immediate

action and are far more willing to intervene when you have a TRO than

when you don’t. Of course, if you

don’t have a TRO or it has expired,

you should also call the police—in all

states, domestic violence is a crime

and you don’t have to have a TRO for

the police to investigate.

The police should respond to your

call by sending out officers. In the

past, police officers were reluctant to

arrest abusers, but this has changed in

many communities where victims’

support groups have worked with police departments to increase the number of arrests. You can press criminal

charges at the police department, and

ask for criminal prosecution. Documentation is crucial if you want to go

this route. Be sure to insist that the

officer responding to your call makes

an official report and takes photographs of any bodily injuries, no matter how slight. Also, get the report’s

prospective number before the officer

leaves the premises.

If you do press charges, keep in

mind that only the district attorney

decides whether or not to prosecute. If

you don’t press charges, however, the

chance is extremely low that the district attorney will pursue the matter.

But in some states, if the injury is severe, the prosecuter may decide to

pursue the case and urge your cooperation.

Getting Legal Help

If you want to take legal action against

your abuser or you need other legal help

related to domestic abuse, the following

organizations can refer you to assistance

programs in your area:

The National Coalition Against Domestic

Violence (NCADV), 303-839-1852,

http:www.ncadv.org.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline,

800-799-SAFE (7233), 800-787-3224

(TTY), http://www.ndvh.org.

Changing

Your Name

You may be thinking of changing

your name for any number of reasons

—perhaps you’re getting married or

divorced, or maybe you just don’t like

the name you’ve got, and you want

Thư viện tri thức trực tuyến

Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law Phần 8 doc

Nội dung xem thử

Mô tả chi tiết

Tài liệu tương tự (6)

Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law Phấn 2 pptx

Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law Phần 10 pot

Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law Phần 9 doc

Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law Phần 7 potx

Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law Phần 6 pdf

Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law Phấn 4 pot