On this site

Official sources

For anything that depends on the law where you live, go to the source rather than to a summary. Every state court system publishes self-help material, and most now have a dedicated self-help center covering divorce and family cases, with the official forms attached. Your state’s child support agency publishes the current guideline calculator. County courts frequently add their own local rules and forms, so check at that level too.

The state resources page explains how to find each of these for your own state, and what to be careful of when you do.

Professional bodies

If you are looking for a practitioner, or want to understand the standards mediators work to, the professional associations are the sensible starting point. Several maintain public directories and publish standards of practice, and many states have their own mediation council or bar association family law section with a local directory.

When you are assessing anyone, ask about their training, how long they have practised, whether they carry professional insurance, and what their complaints process is. Family mediation is regulated differently in every state, and in some it is barely regulated at all, so the questions matter.

Support beyond the legal process

Separation is not only a legal event. Counselling, whether individual or for the family, is worth considering. So is a session with a financial professional who can model what each household will look like afterwards. Schools often have counsellors who are used to supporting children through a family separation, and telling the school what is happening is usually a good idea.