Agree Or Disagree: What To Know About Contested And Uncontested Divorces

Blog

When a couple parts ways, the way the divorce proceeds can vary widely. A number of factors dictate how contentious, lengthy, and costly a divorce ends up being. If the couple can agree on the major issues, an uncontested divorce can be relatively quick and easy way to divorce. On the other hand, a contested divorce may create a long-lasting chaotic situation for all concerned. Read on and find out more.

Important Divorce Issues

Commonly, divorce issues center around either the children or the financial aspects of a relationship. It should not be surprising that a number of the below issues are important because they are fraught with high levels of emotion. The more able a couple is to resolve the below issues themselves, the less likely it is that the divorce will be contested. Another factor is the personalities of the parties. Bitterness, anger, jealousy, spite, and other negative aspects can make the parties more likely to disagree on even the simplest things. Most couples must either agree on the below issues or work things out using other means:

  • Marital debt – who owes what debts.
  • Marital property – who is entitled to leave the marriage with what property.
  • Spousal support – is one party unable to support themself either temporarily or permanently.
  • Child support – who will pay and how much, some couples may war over other connected issues like income and custody.
  • Child custody – who gets legal (usually held by both parents) or physical custody (who the child will primarily reside with).
  • Child visitation – what is the schedule for the non-custodial parent to follow.

Contested Divorce and the Implications

When a couple fails to come to an agreement outside of court on any of the above issues, mediation may be ordered by the family court judge. Mediation is a series of meetings presided over by an expert trained in conflict resolution and divorce law. This way of doing things takes issues out of the courtroom and puts them in a non-formal atmosphere. When mediation results in an agreement, it is put into writing by the parties' divorce lawyers. Unfortunately, if mediation fails to resolve all issues, the case must go to trial. If one of the issues concern child custody or visitation, sometimes the judge will ask that a child study be performed to help them make a decision.

For more information about the above, speak to a divorce lawyer.

Share

18 February 2021

changing a child's last name after a divorce

When I began the divorce process, I knew that I wanted to change my name back to my maiden name. I no longer wanted to be associated with the family name of the man that I was divorcing. The problem was, I have three kids that all had their father's name. I wanted to know if I would be able to change their last names to my maiden name rather than having them carry that family's name for the rest of their lives. I found out a lot about what it would take and began working to create this blog to help other women wanting to do the same thing.