What is a contested divorce?
A contested divorce is a divorce in which the husband and wife cannot agree as to one or more of the terms and issues of the divorce. Contested divorces often involve substantial amounts of documents and hearings. It is generally very difficult to represent oneself in a contested divorce action, particularly if the opposing side has an attorney.
A contested divorce occurs anytime that the parties can’t agree on an issue in their divorce. It could be that the parties are not on the same page as to how much child support is proper for the kids, or who will have custody of the children after the divorce is finalized. Sometimes the different in opinion could be money. Maybe one spouse thinks that they should be entitled to a bigger percentage of the other spouse business, pension, and license. Whatever the difference may be, this divorce will be contested.
A contested divorce is a divorce where the parties resolve all or most issues through the court. At the extreme is a divorce where the parties cannot agree on any issues, and ask the court to rule on every single issue: (alimony, child support, property distribution, custody and visitation). The key differences between contested and uncontested divorces are the following: Time Involved: A default divorce can take as little as (3) three months from filing to signing of the final divorce decree by a judge. A contested divorce can drag on for months due usually to delay by one or both parties with respect to handing over financial documents. Costs Involved Financial: What makes a divorce expensive is the lawyer hours spent. If one side does not contest the divorce (by defaulting) your lawyer does not have to spend anytime negotiating with the other side. He can just put your divorce through with no opposition. From a financial standpoint a default divorce is by far the least expensive rou
A13: In a Contested Divorce, one of the parties is a Petitioner and one of the parties is a Respondent. The parties have not reached an agreement as to the division of their property, responsibility for marital debts, or issues involving the children. Both parties must complete a Financial Affidavit and all other necessary forms. The Court may award Child Support or Alimony. The Petitioner MUST attend the final hearing or trial.
This is when the parties do NOT have an agreement. It has been my experience that at least 90% of all divorce cases, no matter how horrible they are in the beginning, end up with an agreement before the end. If there is no agreement, the case becomes much more expensive. As of November 2004, the judges in Circuit Court started hearing contested divorce cases. It is a lengthy, costly process with a multitude of procedural steps.
