You may know that divorce can be contested or uncontested, but have you ever assumed that means the contest is coming from the person who is not filing for divorce? For instance, say that you file for divorce and your spouse says they don’t want to get a divorce. Does this mean it is contested? Whereas it would be uncontested if both of you wanted to split up?
A contested divorce is actually one in which the two of you can’t agree on the specifics of how you’re going to split up. It has nothing to do with whether or not your spouse wants to get a divorce. You’re able to get one no matter what, so there’s nothing they can do to prevent that. But they don’t have to simply agree to all of the things that you want in that divorce, and that’s when you may have to go to court.
What tends to get contested?
The two big areas for a contested divorce are child custody and property division. Your spouse may not agree with how you’re going to divide the assets or what you’re going to do with your family home. They may not want you to have custody of the children, or they may simply want to split up custody in a way that you don’t agree with.
Going to court can help with all of this because the judge can make a ruling. Your spouse has to follow this ruling after they become your ex. This can help you to define some of these areas that the two of you may not be able to agree on alone.
If you are involved in a contested divorce, it can take time and the outcome is very important, so make sure you know what legal options you have.