Uncontested divorce attorneys will make sure the whole thing is done and over with quickly and easily, and at a very affordable price. The main things that need to be agreed upon are the division of marital and community assets and debts, child custody, and the child support and alimony payments. If both spouses have come to a mutually acceptable arrangement for all of these issues, the family court will grant divorce right away without any legal wrangling.
It's the most sensible option in almost all divorces, but not all. For example, if a spouse is seeking to end the marriage because of domestic violence and abuse, then an agreement is hard to obtain outside the court because the spouses are not on speaking terms and won't be meeting to discuss the issues. It's also not possible when one party wants to keep everything, or is asking for far too much to make negotiations feasible.
If there are no disagreements, the petition is nothing more than a formality. It is still a good idea to handle it professionally because decisions made by the judge will be extremely hard to change afterwards. The most common problem for uncontested divorces is that the couple has the same lawyer. It won't work in this matter because it would be unethical and would create a conflict of interest even if both parties are in complete agreement about the terms of the divorce.
The way it works is that the lawyer only represents the spouse who is filing the petition. This spouse will be the plaintiff in the case, and the other one now has a decision to make. One option is to get another lawyer, while the second option is to trust the plaintiff's lawyer to handle the case as agreed to by both parties.
In a contested case, when one party files a petition, the other side can do the same and file a separate petition asking the court to reject the request for divorce, or seek different terms to end the marriage. The lawyers for each party present their individual cases at the same hearing and argue against the opposing petition. The judge then has to evaluate the evidence and decide which one to grant.
However, if both spouses are in agreement on how to end the marriage, almost all the legal back and forth is eliminated with just one petition. No hearings are held, and the only thing needed is for the right paperwork to be submitted to the court. The terms of the agreement still need to follow certain state and federal regulations.
The manner in which assets and debts are divided is rarely objectionable to the court, and couples can do virtually anything in this regard that is mutually acceptable. The same may not be possible with alimony, child support and custody, which must be in line with minimally acceptable regulations. The court may object to an overly low child support payment even if the recipient spouse has agreed to it.
The point of having uncontested divorce attorneys take care of the details is so that there are no objections raised by the court. Having separate lawyers also ensures that the interests of both sides are safeguarded. The net cost of two individual lawyers handling an uncontested divorce smoothly and quickly will still only be a fraction of the cost each side would bear if the whole thing devolved into a contested case without proper legal representation.
It's the most sensible option in almost all divorces, but not all. For example, if a spouse is seeking to end the marriage because of domestic violence and abuse, then an agreement is hard to obtain outside the court because the spouses are not on speaking terms and won't be meeting to discuss the issues. It's also not possible when one party wants to keep everything, or is asking for far too much to make negotiations feasible.
If there are no disagreements, the petition is nothing more than a formality. It is still a good idea to handle it professionally because decisions made by the judge will be extremely hard to change afterwards. The most common problem for uncontested divorces is that the couple has the same lawyer. It won't work in this matter because it would be unethical and would create a conflict of interest even if both parties are in complete agreement about the terms of the divorce.
The way it works is that the lawyer only represents the spouse who is filing the petition. This spouse will be the plaintiff in the case, and the other one now has a decision to make. One option is to get another lawyer, while the second option is to trust the plaintiff's lawyer to handle the case as agreed to by both parties.
In a contested case, when one party files a petition, the other side can do the same and file a separate petition asking the court to reject the request for divorce, or seek different terms to end the marriage. The lawyers for each party present their individual cases at the same hearing and argue against the opposing petition. The judge then has to evaluate the evidence and decide which one to grant.
However, if both spouses are in agreement on how to end the marriage, almost all the legal back and forth is eliminated with just one petition. No hearings are held, and the only thing needed is for the right paperwork to be submitted to the court. The terms of the agreement still need to follow certain state and federal regulations.
The manner in which assets and debts are divided is rarely objectionable to the court, and couples can do virtually anything in this regard that is mutually acceptable. The same may not be possible with alimony, child support and custody, which must be in line with minimally acceptable regulations. The court may object to an overly low child support payment even if the recipient spouse has agreed to it.
The point of having uncontested divorce attorneys take care of the details is so that there are no objections raised by the court. Having separate lawyers also ensures that the interests of both sides are safeguarded. The net cost of two individual lawyers handling an uncontested divorce smoothly and quickly will still only be a fraction of the cost each side would bear if the whole thing devolved into a contested case without proper legal representation.
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