Nolo Press Occidental’s Legal Essentials for California Couples won an Honorable Mention in the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs). From well over 100 entries in the Best Regional Non-Fiction—West—Pacific category, the book ranked in the top six.

“We are extremely honored that Legal Essentials for California Couples was chosen for this award,” said co-author and publisher Ed Sherman. “We believe that the innovative Couples Contract we’ve introduced in this book will help all couples enhance their relationship and make it last. This award validates our belief.”

Legal Essentials for California Couples explains to all California couples—whether married, getting married, or living together—how California law affects them as a couple and when the rules matter. Most people are not even aware of these rules that silently and invisibly fall into place when they say, “I do,” or move in together. The book reveals how readers can change the rules to suit their circumstances, needs and desires by creating a legally binding Couples Contract, either on their own or with professional assistance.

What makes the Couples Contract so unique is its focus on the couple’s love and commitment. Written in loving language that supports the relationship, the Couples Contract finally offers couples a way to make financial and faith-based agreements without having to resort to the old, negative traditional prenup. Legal Essentials for California Couples has received rave reviews from financial planners, couples counselors, marriage therapists, and religious counselors.

Sherman, the family law attorney who co-founded Nolo Press, is passionate about helping couples attain lasting relationships. In Legal Essentials for California Couples, he has taken 35 years of acquired wisdom and techniques developed to help millions of people get better divorces, and applied these same principles to help any couple build a strong foundation for an enduring relationship.

The Independent Publisher Book Awards were launched in 1996 to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles published each year. Some 1,500 publishers participated in the 2006 Awards, and entries came in from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, seven Canadian provinces, and 14 countries overseas.

Nolo Press Occidental, founded in 1971 with the best-selling How to Do Your Own Divorce in California, started the self-help law revolution and to this day has not only saved its readers untold billions of dollars in legal fees, but also spared them much of the emotional stress of divorce.

Read what the experts say about Legal Essentials for California Couples at Reviews.

For more information call (800) 464-5502, or email sandra@nolotech.com.