Baby Out of Wedlock: Co-Parenting Basics from Pregnancy to Custody

by Jim and Jessica Braz

Overview

"Sk"Skillfully outlines how to prepare for and raise a child out of wedlock."

-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Winner of SIX Literary Awards (see below for details).

Baby Out Of Wedlock is the first and only guidebook written specifically to help the millions of unmarried parents who find themselves involved with an unexpected pregnancy.

This award winning book answers all the basic questions regarding paternity tests, co-parenting relationships, child custody laws, visitation rights, support payments, and much more. The result is a better relationship with your co-parent and lower attorney fees.

Each author has a child born out of wedlock from their previous relationships. They both stumbled through terrible custody battles, making many rookie mistakes that led to important lessons learned. The information offered here could quite literally save you thousands of dollars, especially if you and your co-parent both read it. You will need an attorney to get through this no matter what, but once both parents understand what is reasonable, there should be no need for a costly, drawn-out custody battle.

By reading this book, you'll learn how to write an effective Parenting Plan and how to enforce it without repeated trips back to court. Since the authors have experience in both the mother's and father's perspectives on these issues, you will get balanced, gender-neutral advice on protecting your parental rights while learning how to get along with your co-parent for the long-term.

In addition to a Kirkus Starred Review (https://bit.ly/KirkusStarBoow) and the other favorable editorial reviews shown below, Baby Out of Wedlock has won four literary awards: 

1. Chanticleer Book Awards, Winner 2021 1st Place Non-Fiction, Instruction & Insight Category https://bit.ly/BOOW_CIBA 

2. Readers' Favorite, 2021 Gold Award Non-Fiction, Parenting, https://bit.ly/RFGoldAward

3. CIPA EVVY 2021 Awards, Winner 1st place Non-Fiction, Parenting & Family https://bit.ly/CIPAAward

4. NYC 2021 Big Book Awards, Distinguished Favorite, 2021 Parenting & Family

https://bit.ly/BOOWBigBook

5. Literary Titan April 2021, Gold Book Award

The description of the Gold Book Award can be seen here: https://literarytitan.com/bookawards/

The list of all previous award winners is shown here. Baby Out of Wedlock is about 24 up from the bottom of the Gold list (as of June 2021). https://literarytitan.com/bookawardwinners/

6. She's Single Magazine - 2021 Best Relationship Book Award https://bit.ly/ShesSingleAward

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781736816813
Publisher:	BOOW LLC
Publication date:	05/30/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	393
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Years before Jim and Jessica Braz married, they each had a child born out of wedlock with another partner. They wrote Baby Out of Wedlock to answer basic, but common questions about this situation, thereby reducing legal bills and leading to healthier co-parenting relationships. Visit the Baby out of Wedlock website for information and resources to help both couples understand their rights, gain knowledge and learn tips to make the process work for you and your child.

Table of Contents

1 | Why Read This Book?...1 

Purpose of This Book...2

What Makes Us Experts? . . . 3

Jim's Story...4

Jessica's Story . . . 6

Your Story...7

Changing Your Story . . . 8

2 | Surprise, I'm Pregnant . . . 11

Paternity Tests . . . 12

3 | First Things First . . . 15 

Abortion? . . . 15

Adoption? . . . 17

Single Parent, Co-Parent, or Married Parents? . . . 19

Should You Get Married Now? Later? Ever? . . . 20

4 | Play Nice...23

Freaking Out . . . 24

It's Harder on the Woman . . . 27

Ask, Don'tTell...28

Type A or Type B?...30

Everything Will Change . . . 32

Co-Parenting Decision-Making . . . 33

High-Conflict Relationships and Parallel Parenting . . . 35

5 | Pregnancy and Infant Questions . . . 39 

Doctor Visits during Pregnancy . . . 39

Pregnancy Dos and Don'ts . . . 41

Miscarriage and Premature Birth . . . 43

Ultrasounds and Genetic Testing . . . 45

Umbilical Cord Blood Banks . . . 46

Hospital vs. Alternative Birthing . . . 49

C-Section vs. Natural Birth . . . 53

Vaccinations . . . 55

SIDS and Sleep Training . . . 57

Breastfeeding . . . 59

Postpartum Depression and Other Issues . . . 60

Substance Abuse . . . 62

Parenting Styles . . . 64

6 | Legal Questions . . . 71

Pregnancy Discrimination and Maternity Leave . . . 73

Finding a Good Family Law Attorney in the Right Location . . . 75

Custody - Physical vs. Legal and Sole vs. Joint . . . 79

Visitation Rights . . . 86

Custody Litigation Timeline . . . 91

Evidence in a Custody Case . . . 101

What Is a Parenting Plan? . . . 106

Dispute Resolution . . . 113

What Is a Parenting Coordinator? . . . 116

What Is Arbitration? . . . 121

A Sample Consent Order and Parenting Plan . . . 122

7 | Financial and Child Support Questions . . . 147

Child Support Calculations . . . 148

More about Child Support Calculations . . . 152

Medical Expenses and Extracurricular Activities . . . 154

Private School and College Savings . . . 156

Payment Mechanisms and Enforcement . . . 158

Attorney Fees . . . 161

Recalculating Child Support When Circumstances Change . . . 164

Baby Gear-Buy It or Save Your Money? . . . 168

8 | Getting Along for the Long Term . . . 177

What If I Want to Move?...178

Makeup Visits . . . 180

Transitioning the Child from Parent to Parent . . . 181

Religion ...183

Stepparents . . . 184

Discipline-Different Homes, Different Rules . . . 186

Communication . . . 187

Child Comes First . . . 190

The Big Picture . . . 192

Connect with Us . . . 193

About the Authors . . 195