Contested Divorce
What Is a Contested Divorce?
A contested divorce occurs when a divorcing couple cannot agree on one, some, or all of the decisions involved in the dissolution of their marriage. This disagreement means the couple must take their case to court for a judge to rule on the issues. The couple then must abide by the judge’s ruling.
What Are the Reasons to Contest a Divorce?
Some of the reasons someone might contest a divorce include:
- Child support and child custody: When children are involved, one or both parents may seek full custody or more frequent visitation rights. The couple also may not agree on the amount of child support required after the divorce is final.
- Spousal support: The couple may disagree on the amount of spousal financial support (alimony).
- Grounds for divorce: Although all states permit no-fault divorce, a spouse may prefer to claim adultery or abandonment as grounds for the divorce. One spouse may dispute those grounds.
- Division of marital assets: The couple might disagree on how to divide their shared property and debts.
- Prenuptial agreement: One spouse may challenge the terms of a pre-marriage agreement.
When should you avoid a contested divorce?
Couples should avoid a contested divorce if there is a way they can come to mutually agreeable terms without taking their case to court. A contested divorce can be a long, expensive, and exhausting process.
- Interview and hire an attorney who will prepare, file, and serve the petition asking for the divorce and stating the grounds for the divorce
- Respond to the divorce petition
- Engage with an attorney in gathering information from your spouse and witnesses
- Attend pre-trial legal motions and hearings
- Participate in settlement proposals and negotiations between attorneys
What Is the Average Cost of a Contested Divorce?
“How much does a contested divorce cost?” is a complex question since there are both monetary and emotional costs to a contested divorce, as well as the time spent in the process.
In pure monetary cost, filing for uncontested divorce can cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000, depending on whether legal fees are involved and how complicated the case is.
However, a contested divorce can range in cost from $15,000 to over $100,000.
Let’s look at some of the other, less obvious costs of this kind of divorce.
Timeline of a contested divorce
The timeline of a contested divorce depends on the schedule of your local court and the number of issues involved in your divorce case. In some cases, a contested divorce can take six months.
However, if the court is busy or the case is complicated, a contested divorce can take up to several years to finalize.
Emotional costs of a contested divorce
Additionally, contested divorces can be emotionally difficult for the spouses, their children, and other family members. Testimony and evidence in a contested divorce court case can expose private details about the marriage.
By contrast, in an uncontested divorce, a couple can keep the details about why they wish to divorce as private as possible.
With this type of divorce, the spouses reach a marital settlement agreement with mutually acceptable terms on alimony, child support, child custody, guardianship vs. custody, and the division of marital assets either on their own or with the advice of their attorneys.
Helpful Resources:
What Is a Contested Divorce?
A contested divorce occurs when a divorcing couple cannot agree on one, some, or all of the decisions involved in the dissolution of their marriage. This disagreement means the couple must take their case to court for a judge to rule on the issues. The couple then must abide by the judge’s ruling.
What Are the Reasons to Contest a Divorce?
Some of the reasons someone might contest a divorce include:
- Child support and child custody: When children are involved, one or both parents may seek full custody or more frequent visitation rights. The couple also may not agree on the amount of child support required after the divorce is final.
- Spousal support: The couple may disagree on the amount of spousal financial support (alimony).
- Grounds for divorce: Although all states permit no-fault divorce, a spouse may prefer to claim adultery or abandonment as grounds for the divorce. One spouse may dispute those grounds.
- Division of marital assets: The couple might disagree on how to divide their shared property and debts.
- Prenuptial agreement: One spouse may challenge the terms of a pre-marriage agreement.
When should you avoid a contested divorce?
Couples should avoid a contested divorce if there is a way they can come to mutually agreeable terms without taking their case to court. A contested divorce can be a long, expensive, and exhausting process.
- Interview and hire an attorney who will prepare, file, and serve the petition asking for the divorce and stating the grounds for the divorce
- Respond to the divorce petition
- Engage with an attorney in gathering information from your spouse and witnesses
- Attend pre-trial legal motions and hearings
- Participate in settlement proposals and negotiations between attorneys
What Is the Average Cost of a Contested Divorce?
“How much does a contested divorce cost?” is a complex question since there are both monetary and emotional costs to a contested divorce, as well as the time spent in the process.
In pure monetary cost, filing for uncontested divorce can cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000, depending on whether legal fees are involved and how complicated the case is.
However, a contested divorce can range in cost from $15,000 to over $100,000.
Let’s look at some of the other, less obvious costs of this kind of divorce.
Timeline of a contested divorce
The timeline of a contested divorce depends on the schedule of your local court and the number of issues involved in your divorce case. In some cases, a contested divorce can take six months.
However, if the court is busy or the case is complicated, a contested divorce can take up to several years to finalize.
Emotional costs of a contested divorce
Additionally, contested divorces can be emotionally difficult for the spouses, their children, and other family members. Testimony and evidence in a contested divorce court case can expose private details about the marriage.
By contrast, in an uncontested divorce, a couple can keep the details about why they wish to divorce as private as possible.
With this type of divorce, the spouses reach a marital settlement agreement with mutually acceptable terms on alimony, child support, child custody, guardianship vs. custody, and the division of marital assets either on their own or with the advice of their attorneys.
Helpful Resources: