The Contested Divorce Survival Guide For Women

A contested divorce is a prolonged divorce litigation process that occurs when the couple cannot agree on particular issues surrounding the divorce. These issues can include child custody, the division of marriage assets, alimony, and even the divorce itself. The couple is forced to go to court because they cannot agree upon these issues out of court. The court will then make a final decision on all issues that the couple was not able to settle out of court.

Differences between Contested and Uncontested Divorce

Whereas a contested divorce involves disagreement between the couple on dividing marriage assets, receiving alimony, child custody and support, and agreeing to the divorce itself, an uncontested divorce means that the couple fully agrees on all marriage issues. As a result, the court does not have to decide on any issues, so the legal process will be much quicker and will cost much less than a contested divorce proceeding.

Overview of the Contested Divorce Process

You will meet with your attorney.
A divorce petition will be served upon your spouse.
The discovery phase will commence.
This will be followed by the settlement.
The trial with post-trial motions will take place.
Any appeals will then take place.

When You Meet with Your Attorney

You will be thoroughly interviewed. In addition, the attorney will review any pertinent documents that pertain to the marital assets, the children, and other important issues that were not agreed upon by the couple.

The attorney will then determine what he/she feels you are entitled to. The attorney will prepare the petition that states what you are asking for in the court proceeding and file it with the court system. In addition, the petition will be served upon your spouse, either in person, by mail, or by a deputy sheriff.

If the court cannot locate your spouse to serve the petition, you will have to wait a predetermined amount of time before the divorce proceedings can progress, as the court will attempt to find him via a notice that is printed in the local newspaper.

When the Petition is Filed

Your spouse is required to respond to the petition within 30 days. If your spouse does not, he will be in default, and you will receive a default judgment of divorce.

If your spouse does respond to the petition, the procedures will move ahead to the discovery and settlement phases. Document requests, written interrogatories, and depositions allow the spouses to get detailed information about custody, income, marital assets, and other important issues surrounding the divorce.

It is also during the discovery phase that the spouses can ask for temporary orders of child support or alimony from the courts. It is during this time that the judge of these proceedings will encourage the couple to reach agreements on these issues and on all of the issues surrounding the divorce.

If the couple still cannot reach agreement on all of the issues, the case will head to divorce court.

What Happens in Divorce Court

In the divorce trial, you and your spouse can involve witnesses, cross-examine the other side’s witnesses, and make closing arguments. The judge will hear both sides of the case, then make a ruling based upon the facts presented in the trial.

When the trial has been completed and the judge has signed the order, you or your spouse can file a trial motion for relief from the final judgment. The other party has 30 days to file and respond to the post-trial motion.

If the motion is denied, the appeal is implemented. The appeal also has to be filed within 30 days of final judgment or within 30 days of the denial of the post-trial motion.

If the divorce case is reversed, the appellate court will submit the case to the trial court for further proceedings. Otherwise, the case is completed.

Attaining Legal Help

Going through a contested divorce proceeding is a complicated that can be incredibly draining physically, mentally, and financially. It is certainly not recommended that you represent yourself in a contested divorce proceeding, as the complexities involved in a contested divorce proceeding are far too complicated for the untrained layman to handle without sabotaging his or her case. An established and experienced divorce attorney in your state can help evaluate your case based upon the laws of your state and present the strongest case possible so that you receive the fairest amount of compensation and the best resolution of the issues possible.

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