Uncontested divorces are those that are more streamlined because the divorcing couple agrees on a variety of important principles. Oftentimes, couples that are planning to get an uncontested divorce have agreed about spousal support, divisions of debt, property division and child custody and don't need to battle about these situations in court. Yet there are times that a "simple" divorce can be started by ignorance.
While a couple originally agreed about all of the above factors, when it comes down to it the two may start to argue. In some cases, divorces that start out as uncontested eventually end up in a contested, court-battle fiasco. Miscommunication can ruin an uncontested divorce. If you truly want to a fast divorce, you and your ex should write down all agreements on an informal contract and both sign it to indicate that they have communicated about the issues at hand and have arrived at a mutual agreement that is also mutually understood.
Another pitfall in an uncontested divorce is the risk of hidden debts. In a contested divorce, the court will go through all debts and divide them up, so that each spouse will be given his or her court-ordered "fair" share of these responsibilities. If you organize the division yourself, you may discover additional debts in the future that you were unaware at the outset of the divorce. Also, many uncontested divorces don't involve children.
If you do have children and still want to work towards an uncontested divorce, make sure that you consider child support payments, visitation rights, holidays, birthdays and visitations over vacation, and how to resolve any future disputes. Uncontested divorces often don't involve spousal support, but if you want spousal support then you may want to opt for a contested divorce instead. To learn more about whether uncontested or contested divorce is right for you, talk to a Los Angeles divorce attorney at Claery & Hammond today!
