A straightforward, all-incisive guide that alerts women to the pitfalls of a hasty decision "just to get it over with," Don't Settle for Less teaches women how to work within the system to improve the outcome of their divorce settlements. In our era of women's equality in the home as well as the workplace, it is shocking that when it comes to divorce, women routinely encounter serious economic and emotional hardship while their ex-husbands enjoy increased prosperity. Beverly Pekala, an attorney with years of experience in family law, provides invaluable step-by-step counsel to offset this disparity. Along with other crucial revelations and strategies, Don't Settle for Less tells women when and how they announce their decision to divorce can actually put them in a stronger legal position, how they must analyze the value of all marital property including the less obvious retirement benefits, pension plans, profit-sharing, and even the husband's hidden assets, how those who choose to give up their careers to raise children can be awarded a settlement based on their reduced earning capacity, how understanding their rights as parents and the rights of their children will give them an advantage in child support, custody, and visitation negotiations, and well as how there are a myriad of important details to consider when deciding between going to trial versus settling out of court. With the understanding that knowledge is power, Beverly Pekala provides women with the ammunition they need to use an economically unfair system to their advantage.