socalteacher

If a divorcing couple agree to keep their debt and assets separate and agree to each be responsible for their own accounts in their own names, do they still have to claim that debt or asset on the divorce papers?

If the father of a child agrees to give full custody to the mother in a divorce, and the mother agrees to not make the father pay child support, will the courts allow that, or does the court have final say?

I'm 7 months pregnant and I want to start a college savings account for my child. What is the best savings plan that I can set up, but which also gives me a lot of flexibility in managing it and the least amount of fees?

Okay, I keep reading about all the reasons I shouldn't go in a hot tub during pregnancy and most make sense, but I think the duration plays a key factor, does it not? Even if the water is over 101 degrees, doesn't it take some time to raise your body temperature? I don't think a person's body temperature increases as soon as you go into the hot tub.

I'm 10 weeks pregnant and I went in the hot tub last night for no more than 10 minutes. I know the water temperature was over 101 degrees, but it was at night (so it wasn't hot at all; it was slightly chilly) and I made a point to continuously get in and out of the water every minute or so to cool myself off and make sure that I wasn't completely submerging myself from the neck down for more than 5-10 seconds at a time. I think I'm safe to assume that my baby is okay, right?

I've read so many different ways to calculate my due date and they all end up telling me different dates, so which is the most accurate calculator online? I'm thinking the ones that ask you for your last menstrual period AND your average length of period are the most accurate since everyone's cycle is different, but I'm not sure.

I've also heard you just add 7 days to your last menstrual period and then subtract 3 months. I know I'm due in mid-March, but I'd like to pinpoint a specific date. My first appointment with my OB is on Aug. 7th and I want to know how accurate my date is to the date she will give me.

Any links to calculators that you found to be accurate in your experience would be greatly helpful! Thanks for your help!

I read on some sites that upgrades made to a home, such as wood flooring, new appliances and new paint, are considered during an appraisal, but my Realtor says the amenities don't matter, that the comps, square footage, condition, and age of the home are what appraisers look at. Which is correct?

Normally, the commission would be split, so on a 6% commission, it would be 3% and 3%, but if one agent handles both sides of the sale, does he/she get to keep the 6%?

If I'm the seller and since the seller pays for the commission, can I suggest that I just give him/her 3% if I don't go with my own seller's agent, since that's what he/she would get anyway...that way, I would save money on commission. I don't know if I made any sense, but I hope I did.

I know caulk is normally used as a sealant and grout is used between tiles, but are they made of the same thing? Can I run caulk over my old kitchen counter tile grout to "clean" it up?

Almost everyone these days has a cell phone and with so many plans you can switch to, I've wondered how loyal people have been to a cell number/provider. I've had the same cell phone number since 1999 with the same provider, Cingular (now AT&T) and have only switched phones four times. How about you?

We found a real estate agent who charges 5% commission to sell our home (2% for herself, 3% for buyer's agent). Is that a good deal? She really knows the area, especially the townhouse community in which we live, so we figure that it's better to have a real estate agent who knows the market and can get our house sold fast rather than trying to find someone else who charges less commission.

We want to know what you all think. Thanks!

Does the wood flooring HAVE to all run in the same direction from room to room? The wood in our kitchen, living room, dining area, and hallway that lead into the bedrooms all go in the same direction, but we decided to go in a perpendicular direction in the master bedroom because I was always told to lay the floors in the direction of the light coming in through the main window. So naturally, with the window being where it is, the floors ended up going in a perpendicular direction.

It's too much work to change it back now, but I was just wondering if it's so bad. Also, since it is the way it is, should we just run the wood in our second bedroom in a perpendicular direction to make it look consistent with the master bedroom (the light in the second bedroom also comes in the same direction as the master)? Or connect it with the hallway? I'm just afraid if we do that, the master is going to really look like the odd ball, being the only one going in a different direction.

We're confused!

We had some water leakage through our ceiling, which caused a small area of the popcorn ceiling to peel off. What's the quickest and easiest way to repatch that?

I wonder how many people put their pet's picture as the wallpaper on their cell phones instead of their spouse or children.

I have these earrings that I think are real, but they don't have the stamp that I would normally see. Does that mean it's fake?

We're thinking of selling our condo and we have about $2000 to make upgrades. We'd love some suggestions on how to get the most return. We've already thinking of updating the range and dishwasher to stainless steel to match the fridge...

We have closet doors that aren't on tracks, but just has a middle piece screwed to the ground to keep the doors in place. We plan on pulling up the carpet, which goes into the closet. So, I'm wondering what is the proper way to install the laminate flooring there? Should we stop the flooring just outside the closet door and leave the carpet in place inside the closet? Or are we supposed to screw the middle piece to the top of the laminate? Or what?

Besides regrouting my kitchen counter tile or getting a new countertop, is there anything out there that really gets the grout clean? No silly/stupid answers please...

Does it really matter?