What is an uncontested divorce?
A14: In an Uncontested Divorce, one of the parties is a Petitioner and one of the parties is a Respondent. Both parties have resolved all issues and must sign an agreement setting forth the division of their property, responsibility for marital debts, and issues involving the children. Both parties must complete a Financial Affidavit and all other necessary forms. The Petitioner MUST attend the final hearing.
Syrtash & Grunwald: Most often the divorce itself is not contested. In those cases the party being served with the divorce documents may chose not to oppose the request for a divorce and not file any responding material. It is no longer seen as a sign of shame if the other person “gets” the divorce. This usually happens where the parties have already negotiated the terms of their separation and have a separation agreement, marriage contract, or cohabitation agreement. The divorce judgment in these cases may include the terms already agreed upon or not make any reference to anything but the divorce itself. If you are the person being served with divorce documents and think that everything has been agreed upon, you should be sure you have it in a proper agreement before allowing the divorce to go through uncontested. This is one of those situations where you should have advice from a family law lawyer before deciding whether to let the divorce go through uncontested. Just thinking you an
Sometimes a married couple can agree on terms of divorce and division of marital property, and even agree on child support and visitation. Typically the husband or wife hires an attorney and the attorney prepares the necessary documents to file with the court. After 60 days, the attorney and her client appear before the judge. The attorney will then ask her client a short list of questions to verify the property agreement and child support and visitation agreements contained in the divorce decree.
