Judge Blasts Divorce Court in Nolo Book

BERKELEY, Calif.--(EON:Enhanced Online News)--“Whatever you do, try to keep your case out of divorce court — the system stinks,” writes Judge Roderic Duncan in A Judge’s Guide to Divorce: Uncommon Advice from the Bench, new from Nolo. “But if your spouse won’t cooperate and you must go, here’s everything you need to know about surviving the ordeal.”

“Whatever you do, try to keep your case out of divorce court — the system stinks”

The veteran divorce-court judge reveals court as a clumsy tool for breaking up a family. It’s adversarial, intrusive and costly. When the law and fairness don’t jive, the judge must side with the law. And when the couple has children, the courtroom experience makes long-term enemies of the two people most important to the kids.

So Duncan recommends you and your spouse reach your own agreements, and he offers plenty of sage advice on how to accomplish this — from kitchen-table settlements to mediation to collaborative divorce. Almost always, the court will rubberstamp its approval of your settlement.

But for those bound for court, he offers a wealth of tips on how to make your court appearance as successful and stress-free as possible. After thousands of cases, he knows all the blunders and booby traps that await you. He lays out an insider’s guide to survival — everything from preparing your presentation to courtroom etiquette.

A Judge’s Guide to Divorce backs up its points with recollections both tragic and comic. After all, the judge has seen it all (like the time he ordered a man to give the baby he was holding to its mother — the man tossed it to a friend headed for the door). The book delivers straight talk from a compassionate man who has witnessed the carnage of divorce court firsthand.