Description: Getting married? Wondering about prenuptial agreements? Written for couples either contemplating or already married, The Generous Prenup: How to Support Your Marriage and Avoid the Pitfalls is a comprehensive, readable guide to both prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, their dangers, and how best to structure them.
Brief description: Laurie Israel is a lawyer and mediator located in Brookline, Massachusetts. A founder of Israel, Van Kooy & Days, LLC, she has been practicing law for over 30 years. Her writings on prenuptial agreements have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Huffington Post. Laurie has been interviewed by a number of other publications, including New York magazine. Laurie's significant work in the area of prenuptial agreements - in representing clients individually and in serving as a mediator for couples formulating the terms of their prenup - made her aware of the dangers prenups pose, both in process and in content, especially in first marriages. The Generous Prenup: How to Support Your Marriage and Avoid the Pitfalls is the result of her experience in this field. Laurie is a national leader in the field of mediating prenups. Her divorce practice led her to an interest in marriages - what makes them succeed and what makes them fail. She is one of the national leaders in the emerging field of marital mediation, in which the mediation process is used to help married couples improve their relationships. She is a leader in the field of marital mediation -- using mediation techniques to improve marriages. For more on the author, visit www.laurieisrael.com and www.ivkdlaw.com. To read her articles on law, marriage, and other topics, visit www.ivkdlaw.com, www.huffpost.com, and www.mediate.com
Review Quotes:
"This brilliant book by Laurie Israel is a gift to every marriage, because she shows how to negotiate divisive issues collaboratively, allowing couples to reach agreements on potentially disruptive issues without the pain and acrimony of adversarial, trust-destroying, love-depleting, legalistic strategies. It's exactly what is needed and is invaluable. A real must-read."
-- Kenneth Cloke, Mediator and author of The Dance of Opposites: Explorations of Mediation, Dialogue and Conflict Resolution Systems Design
"Laurie Israel's The Generous Prenup is an instant classic - by far the best book that I've seen on the subject of prenuptial agreements. Its comprehensive scope and exceptional depth put The Generous Prenup in a league of its own. It is accessible - the author has a knack for explaining complex legal issues in plain English, with useful examples drawn from her work as a lawyer and mediator."
-- David A. Hoffman, Esq., Founder, Boston Law Collaborative, LLC and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School
"Laurie Israel raises critical issues in her book, and brings a welcome new perspective on the challenges of a premarital agreement. Her focus on generosity - rather than greed - sets the perfect tone and reorients us to the goals of the marriage. She tells enlightening stories and shares her knowledge and suggestions with a clear mind and a gentle hand, making this a vital resource for attorneys and clients alike."
-- Frederick Hertz, Attorney/Mediator, Oakland, California
"The Generous Prenup opens an important new door for couples, their friends and families, and their professional advisors as well, providing a wise and experienced perspective on prenuptial and postnuptial agreements that has never before been available. Laurie Israel shows you how you might negotiate an agreement more creative and generous than most lawyers have ever imagined possible. This is a major piece of work that will fill an important need."
-- Pauline H. Tesler, Collaborative Lawyer, Mill Valley, California
"This is about to become the "go-to" book for couples contemplating marriage and considering a prenup, as well as lawyers and mediators who work in this field. Laurie Israel's comprehensive book fills the need for something that has been missing for a long time - namely, one volume that covers every conceivable question that one could raise and how the process can remain a "generous" one. I look forward to giving the next couple who contacts me copies of Laurie's book so that I may truly help them go through the process in the most "generous" way."
-- Ken Neumann, Mediator, New York, New York