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Your state

Forms, filing fees, waiting periods and the traps that get filings rejected, for one state at a time.

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Every page on the site Share this with someone Not sure where to begin What people wish they had known900+ pages, all free to read

Forms, deadlines, and the traps that get filings rejected — one kit per state. And if this only just happened, start here.

Start hereFour questions, then the handful of pages that apply to you, in the order they will make sense The first thirty daysWhat has to happen now, what can wait, and the advice everyone gives that is usually wrong Moving out, and the houseWhether leaving costs you the house, whose name is on what, and the four different things called separation Temporary ordersSupport, the children and the legal fees, decided in the first weeks and lasting until the case ends Do you have to e-file?Where the choice is yours, where the court will not let you — all fifty, and what e-filing adds to the fee Compare all fiftyFiling fee, waiting period, residency rule, e-filing access and official form count, side by side for all fifty states Look up a form numberEvery official divorce form all fifty states publish, searchable by number, with the revision date and a link to the state’s own original

Browse all 50 state guides →

The filing fee for your state, traced to the statute.

Getting your finances in order — what to expect, what is taxable, who pays for what →Bankruptcy and divorce — what a filing stops, what it never stops, and which chapter wipes out a property settlement →Divorce money by state — property, support, legal fees, and the four states that tax alimony differently →Is this worth fighting over? — what the argument costs against what it is worth, at your own numbers →What am I forgetting? — forty-three things people miss, shown by what is true of you →Mediation — what it is good at, what it is not, and the questions to ask first →Compare all 50 states →What people report paying — the rest of the bill →Alimony in all fifty states →Divorce and taxes →Dividing retirement: QDROs, IRAs and pensions →Social Security on an ex-spouse’s record →Health insurance after divorce →Divorce and debt →Valuing a business →Discovery: finding out what you actually own →When you think assets are being hidden →The house: sell it, keep it, or rent →Qualifying for a mortgage on one income →When they stop paying →Beneficiaries and wills after divorce →The parts that are the same everywhere →

Attorneys, mediators, CDFAs and therapists, verified. Nobody paid to be listed — and what to ask before you hire one.

Questions to ask a lawyerThirty of them, with what a bad answer sounds like Doing it without a lawyerWhen that is reasonable, and the hard stops where it is not What your state calls itConservatorship, time sharing, community property. The words that change at the state line GlossaryImputed income, pendente lite, merged versus incorporated. In plain English For real estate agentsDivorce-specific training and assessment, both free. Cusp Certified is the badge afterwards, $149 a year

All 50 state directories →Selling the house? What the agent credentials mean →

Prenups and postnups in plain English, traced to the statute.

The guideHow they work, and the four ways they fail The checklistWhat to do, in what order, from twelve months out Annotated clausesSix that hold up, three that cause trouble PostnupsWhat changes when you are already married

Custody, support, the arrangements underneath them — and what to do when they stop working.

What age can a child choose?The whole answer is that no state lets them. Only six even name an age When the order stops workingContempt, arrears, and changing the number or the schedule years later Conflict and the child in the middleBadmouthing, loyalty binds, the Disneyland parent, and what each one actually does Child custody by stateIs 50/50 really the default? What the statute says in all fifty Child support by stateHow each state calculates it, and what changes the number Co-parentingCommunication, handovers, and the things that reliably go wrong Parenting arrangementsSchedules that work, by the age of the child Which state decidesJurisdiction, and why it is settled before you think Who speaks for your childGuardians ad litem, evaluators — what they do and who pays Children of divorceWhat the research shows, and where it is misquoted Children of divorce, by ageSix bands — what changes between two and seventeen For kids and teensWritten to them, not about them — ages 10 and up Grown-up children of divorceHowever long ago it was — written to them, not about them

Protective orders in all fifty states, traced to the statute itself.

Abuse and the divorce caseCoercive control, custody presumptions, why mediation is the wrong room, and documenting safely

All 50 protective order guides →Guns and protection orders: the federal rule →Which states actually take the guns →Digital safety, and the line you must not cross →

Getting your things out of the house, and keeping them somewhere safe until it is settled.

Moving during a divorceThere are two moves, and the federal rules that protect you on the second Broker or carrier?The fifteen-second test that tells you who will actually turn up Every authorized moverAll 1,252 of them, by state, and which are brokers rather than carriers Storage optionsThe four kinds, and whose name ends up on the agreement Storage and the lienHow a unit gets sold out from under you, and how to stop it What happens to the houseSell, buy out, or wait — and when not to call an agent at all Talk to someone who gets itHow we help with the house, and how agents are vetted

Travel, your health, your name, new relationships. The parts that are not about the filing — and that matter before, during and long after it.

The occasions nobody wrote rules forWeddings, graduations, funerals, holidays and birthdays, when the family is divided Health and self-careTherapy, grief, sleep, drinking, eating, appearance and the healthcare you stopped booking TravelPassports that need both parents, consent letters, and what it costs to travel as one Changing your name backAsk in the divorce and it is usually free. Miss that moment and it is not StepfamiliesWhat the research says, and the two statistics that have no source Blended familiesWhat actually works, and what is just custom StepmothersThe hardest position in the structure, and why it is the structure Dating againThe legal risk nobody mentions, and how to stay safe Buddy connectionsMatched with one person going through it too. Both anonymous Share The CuspPass it to someone who needs a straight answer Where we were wrongEvery error we have found and fixed, dated and public

Divorce hands most people silence. Somebody out there is going through a version of what you are — here is how to find them, and what is open today.

You are not the only oneThe whole of it on one page: what is open today, and what is still being built Support groups and resourcesEvery organization checked by loading its own site. The ones that had died are named as dead Buddy connectionsMatched with one other person going through it too. Both have to say yes, both stay anonymous. Not open yetThe community boardsThree separate spaces rather than one forum, and the reasons why. Not open yetWho gets the friendsThe couple you had dinner with for nine years stops calling, and nobody warns you Share The CuspPass it to someone at the start of this, before they have already spent the money Community rulesEight rules, each one here because of a specific way a space like this can hurt somebody How accounts will workA name you choose and a code only you have. No email, no real name, nothing that can be searched for. Not open yet

You are not the only one →Read the rules before any of it opens →

All topics For professionals About

For libraries and self-help centers

The Cusp publishes a free, plain-language divorce guide for each US state. Each guide links its figures (fees, waiting periods, deadlines) to the official court, statute or agency source and shows the date its sources were last checked. It is general information, not legal advice.

Printable handouts

One-page handout for libraries (PDF)
One-page handout for courthouse self-help centers (PDF)

Link to us

Point patrons to the state guide index. Staff may print and share the handouts.

Corrections and questions

Courts change forms and fees. If anything looks out of date, email hello@thecusp.app and we will check it against the official source. See also our corrections page.

Also for legal-aid offices, bar-association help desks and attorneys’ waiting rooms: a one-page client sheet on selling the home in a divorce (PDF).

Looking for something else?

Every topic on The Cusp, from the first thirty days to life after the decree.

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Work out the money

What it costs, by state What people report paying State guides & forms Prenups & postnups The prenup checklist

Find people

Professional directory Divorce real estate agents For agents: Cusp Certified Free resources for agents Buddy connections Share The Cusp Facebook support group The Cusp on Facebook

About

All topics Why I built this How we make money Contact us hello@thecusp.app Corrections For libraries Privacy policy Terms of service Advertise with us

The Cusp is not a law firm and does not provide legal, financial, or clinical advice. Professionals in our directory are listed on the basis of independently verified public credentials — not payment, partnership, or endorsement. Every cost figure is quoted from an official government source and linked to it; court fees change without notice, so confirm with your clerk before you pay. How we make money.

© 2026 Hyleri Katzenberg. The text of these pages, and the selection and arrangement of them, are protected by copyright. Link to anything here, and quote us with attribution — we would rather you did. Republishing pages, or reproducing the structure of this site, is not permitted. Licensing and permissions: hello@thecusp.app. Registration of this work is pending with the United States Copyright Office (application 1-15252669609, filed 2 September 2026). · The Cusp LLC, 16 Railroad Place #1035, Westport, CT 06880 · thecusp.app

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