A compassionate judge warns women that when they become involved with men, money, and property, the law rarely provides them with the same protection and benefits that it confers on men. This book is based on Lois Forer's sixteen years as a judge, presiding over family criminal, and civil cases in court, and her lifetime career as a lawyer, counseling women of all classes, ethnic origins, and income levels. Many of them, she says, either were not well-served by the law, Or suffered because of their ignorance of the law's tendency to be biased in favor of men, and thus failed to protect themselves against this possibility ahead of time. The chapters reflect the life stages most women pass through as they become involved with men, money, and property. Through the real life stories of women Judge Forer has seen in court or counseled, we learn what the pitfalls of each life stage can be, and how to avoid them. In the cases of women who did. Not understand the legal consequences of their choices and wound up jeopardized, she shows what they should have done to protect themselves. In other stories she reveals what women who came out best knew - and did - to avoid the worst. The book is pragmatic and directly helpful. One section lists Five Commandments every contemporary woman should keep in mind when she becomes legally involved with men and money. There are checklists and do's and don'ts at the end of each. Chapter, revealing in each life-stage situation the warning signals that should alert a woman to possible problems ahead - and what to do if any of them occur. This is not a man-bashing book, but quite the opposite! Lois Forer is squarely on the side of building and maintaining fulfilling relationships, and she has written this caring guideline to ensure that outcome for every woman. "What women want in the 1990s," she says, "is what women have always wanted and what men. Considered the natural expectations and rights of every man: love, marriage, children, satisfying and adequately compensated work, and respect. I hope," she adds, "that this book is one more stepping-stone to help women achieve those goals."