There are two kind of divorces, a contest and uncontested. A contested divorce is one is which the parties cannot agree, either about getting a divorced itself or about the terms of the divorce, such as the division of assets, the custody of the children, child support, allocation of debts, and alimony. In an uncontested, divorce, the spouses agree on everything and do not need the court to divide the assets or make the determinations about alimony, child support, or custody. In general, a uncontested divorce will proceed through the system more quickly, be much less complicated, and less of a financial burden.
Most couples tend to begin the process of a contested divorce and then, before the actual trial, reach to some sort of agreement on the financial terms and otherwise, of the divorce. This is called a settlement. One of the biggest advantages of a settlement is that neither spouse will appeal it because they both agreed upon it and thus are presumably happy with it. Both parties can therefore be assured of finality and an end to litigation. If you reach a settlement with your spouse, it is essential to have the agreement memorialized in such a way that it makes the settlement legally binding and enforceable.
This is called a settlement. One of the biggest advantages of a settlement is that neither spouse will appeal it, because both by definition agree to it and thus are presumably happy with it. Both parties can therefore be assured of finality and an end to litigation. If you reach a settlement with your spouse, it is essential to have the agreement memorialized in such a way that it makes the settlement legally binding and enforceable.
It is becoming more and more popular for spouses to "do their own divorce", eliminating the legal costs involved with hiring lawyers. Spouses that are successful doing their own divorce are almost always in agreement, thus they are doing an uncontested divorce. This is something you may want to consider before hiring costly lawyers if you and your spouse are in agreement with the terms you wish to divorce upon.
It is not recommended that either spouse attempt to represent him or herself in a contested divorce. There is an famous quote, "he who represents himself in court, has a fool for a client". This is very true, because the complexities of a contested divorce are far to much for the average untrained individual to absorb. The financial and emotional repercussions of acting as your own lawyer in a contested divorce case can be devastating.
Today, you will find that most judges and lawyers prefer to settle out of the court in an uncontested fashion. If you and your spouse can not come to some type of agreement on your own, typically your lawyer will help you reach eventually, but result maybe that the one party or both parties will not be happy with the outcome of a contested divorce.
4 comments:
This is all interesting, and you do hyperlink to the original source, but the phrasing (especially at the beginning) is so close to your link that you have three options: quoting it directly (and citing/linking), putting it in your own words (and still citing/linking), or not using it alltogether. Don't risk academic issues with phrasing. Make sure to be clear which words are yours and which words are your sources'.
You know what, I totally agree with you! I am definitely against divorces, but choosing between a contested and uncontested divorce, I would choose Uncontested divorce. Going through divorce is already so hard and painful that one shouldn't go through the pain of courts and getting parties to agree. I knew a couple who were going through a rough time and decided on a divorce. Thankfully, things were settled and now they are together again. But when they were going through the whole divorce process, they did out-of-court settlement (uncontested divorce). It was calm and peaceful and there weren't any feuds going on about who would take the kids and the house and what not. Not just that, but just like you said, the costs of divorces itself are so high that one waistes most of their savings and paychecks on just getting a divorce. I would definitely recommend that if one is getting a divorce, go for the Uncontested divorce!!
Nice picture of half the truck in the house. In marriage sometimes it does end up like some of these situations. Divorce at times can definitely changes both parties lives mentally, physically, and financially. Being in the military, I have first hand seen others go through some tough times. In the military the hardest job is being a spouse. They are the ones that have to sacrifice their time and work. It’s hard to believe, but the person that you loved can turn into one of you worst enemies. They are the person who knows you better than anyone; in turn they know your strengths and weaknesses. Of course, the easiest way to end a divorce is if both parties agree on an uncontested divorce. This can save so much time and hard ache for both especially if there are children involved.
I read some interesting comments on this subject in a previous course that I completed. One student felt strongly that divorce should be outlawed. Another felt that people should not be allowed to marry before age 25. A few years ago the Marine Corps tried to implement a policy that would only accept people who were not married. The Commandant took it in the shorts for that one. Score: Political correctness 1, Marine Corps 0. Having firsthand experience in addressing many of the marital and family issues that young troops were faced with I totally agreed with the policy, but common sense told me that it would never pass muster.
I think the best way to prevent divorce is premarital counseling and education. Too many people (especially young ones) have no concept of how certain issue that destroy a marriage can be so subtle and inconspicuous in the beginning.
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