Uncontested Divorce in Marietta
Settle Legal Matters Without Heading to Court
Henrickson & Sereebutra represents clients in all types of divorce and strongly recommends that you and your spouse achieve an uncontested divorce if at all possible. What exactly is an uncontested divorce? It is a dissolution of marriage in which spouses settle all issues (such as custody / visitation, spousal support, and property division) before going to court. In contrast, a contested divorce occurs when the couple calls on the judge or a jury to decide these matters for them—making it more expensive.
Do not think that uncontested divorce is only for couples who get along perfectly and who agree on everything. While the American Bar Association reports that approximately 95% of divorces are uncontested, this does not mean that most divorces are easy.
Can We Achieve an Uncontested Divorce?
Achieving an uncontested divorce does not depend on you and your spouse agreeing on the issues involved in ending your marriage; however, it does require that you are both committed to taking a fair approach and that you are capable of respectful, constructive communication. Provided that these condition are met, you may be able to spare yourselves a considerable amount of stress and can shield your children from emotional trauma and parental alienation, in addition to saving a great deal of time and money.
Strategies for Uncontested Divorce
Two of the most common ways to pursue an uncontested divorce:
- Mediation: In mediation, neither you nor your spouse will have an attorney. Instead, an attorney from the firm will act as a neutral third party, serving to facilitate negotiations, keeping discussions on track, and ensuring that you adequately address all relevant legal issues. Mediation has the significant advantage of being private, allowing you to avoid exposing your private affairs.
- Collaborative Divorce: This relatively new approach to divorce is distinguished by the fact that at the outset of the process, all the parties involved—including the spouses and their attorneys—sign a participation agreement that binds them to avoid adversarial litigation at all times. It also requires them to engage in constructive, open discussions and negotiations.
How Long Will It Take for Me to Get an Uncontested Divorce?
One of the biggest benefits of an uncontested divorce is that it is much faster. Where contested divorces will require you and your spouse to enter into complex and time-consuming courtroom battles, uncontested divorces allow you to move forward quickly. In fact, if you and your spouse are able to come to an agreement about the relevant legal matters, the divorce may be granted 31 days after the defendant has been served.
Minimize the Time, Cost & Stress of Divorce
There are innumerable benefits to filing an uncontested divorce. Not only will the process be faster, but it will be often cheaper. Beyond that, you and your spouse will be able to maintain more control over the final agreements by working them out amongst yourselves instead of handing them over to the court to decide.
For this reason, we encourage you to discuss with your spouse the possibility of avoiding contested divorce. When you are ready, contact the divorce attorneys from our firm. We know that filing for divorce can be difficult, but we are dedicated to helping guide you through it from beginning to end. We have 15+ years of experience that can be put to work for you, and we proudly offer free case evaluations to get you started.
Whatever course of action you choose, your first step is to contact us for an initial consultation during which we can evaluate your situation. Call now!
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