The Long and Hard Road Of a Contested Divorce

A contested divorce is usually a tedious process that involves a lot of time, resources and emotional turmoil. When parties to a divorce are incapable of coming up with a harmonious agreement on child custody issues or the division of conjugal assets, the road ahead can be rutted and long.

Attempt to Agree in Advance

It is advisable for couples seeking a divorce to get into an agreement over marital issues before they go to court. The process will be less strenuous, but most often extenuating situations can result to contention over the details of the proposed divorce settlement. Such a situation can then give rise to a contested divorce.

Petitioning

The litigation process in a contested divorce involves more steps which will take longer to resolve. Initially, the party who instigates the process will have to meet with an attorney to lay out the details for the filing of a petition. Documents pertinent to marital assets and child custody will be reviewed by the attorney so he can determine what the party is entitled to. Then the petition is prepared and filed with the court, after which the same shall be served upon the spouse.

Divorce petitions are typically served in person, by mail or by the sheriff. Sometimes, the spouse cannot be located so a notice will be published in a newspaper of general circulation for a prescribed period, after which the filing party must wait for a pre-determined time frame before any further proceedings can take place.

Answer to Petition

If the spouse receives the petition, he is required by law to give an answer within 30 days. In case he fails to provide one, he is considered to be in default and the court will accord the filing party a default judgement of divorce. If the spouse responds, the process moves on to the discovery phase wherein documents and dispositions are furnished to establish the grounds by which issues relating to income, custody, division of marital assets and anything else relevant to the case will be adjudged. It is at this phase where the judges encourage both parties to reach an amicable agreement prior to an actual court date. They may recommend divorce mediation where both parties can meet with a court appointed third-party negotiator in an attempt to resolve divorce-related issues. Hopefully, they can arrive at a settlement, but if mediation fails, the case moves up to the divorce court.

Trial

A judge will hear out both sides during the actual divorce trial and allow parties to provide witnesses to support their arguments. A decision will be made based on the facts presented and the judge signs the order, after which either party will be entitled to file a post-trial motion for relief from the final judgement within 30 days. If it is denied, a notice of appeal may be filed within 30 days of the denial and the party seeking the appeal can submit the lower court record and his brief to the appeals court. Then the other party will be given 30 days to respond to the brief.

Arguments

Both parties will be granted oral arguments after which the appellate court will come up with its final decision. It will all be over if the lower court decision is affirmed. But in case of a reversal, the case is sent back to the trial court and further proceedings will have to transpire. There is no definite prescribed period as to how long this can last, and a more complex case will equate to longer proceedings. The only sure thing is that a contested divorce can turn into a lengthy court procedure that will inevitably drain the emotions and the pockets.

Always Talk to a Divorce Lawyer First

Facing a divorce is a stressful and challenging time, and when the separating couple cannot agree on child custody, support and marital property division, the process quickly becomes complicated. Always get legal advice from a family or divorce attorney before taking any steps towards divorce.

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