DIVORCE LAW / LEGAL SEPARATION

UNCONTESTED DIVORCE

An uncontested divorce is one where both the husband and wife can agree on how to divide all of their assets and their debts, and if they have children, how to share custody and child support.
 

An uncontested divorce is one in which both spouses agree on how to divide assets and debts, decide on support amounts, and work out parenting issues. Once the spouses reach those agreements, they can complete their divorce paperwork and get a judgment of divorce, often without even having to go to court.
 

An uncontested divorce costs much less than a court battle or even a negotiated solution that relies on lawyers to do the negotiating. Because you pay a lawyer for all time spent on your case, including preparing documents, phone calls, emails, and court time, it can get very expensive very quickly.
 

Uncontested divorce is also usually more efficient. Depending on your state’s waiting period and how long it takes you to work out the details of a settlement, it could be a matter of just a few months.
 

These advantages are great, but the most important advantage of an uncontested divorce is that it is so much less emotionally draining for you, your spouse, and your children than a contested case. If you have children, working cooperatively and establishing a decent relationship with the other parent will affect your quality of life for years to come. On the other hand, a bitter divorce battle can poison that relationship and cause lifelong tension and strain for your children

LEGAL SEPARATION

Unlike divorce, a legal separation doesn’t end a marriage. It provides a legal way to settle some of the issues that arise when spouses decide to separate. For example, when couples separate, one or the other might need financial support. If there are children, custody, visitation, and support must be decided. A legal separation must, like a divorce, be granted by a court. When it grants a legal separation, the court also resolves or helps to resolve the other issues. Acceptable grounds or reasons are similar to those for divorce.

A divorce ends your marriage. After you get divorced, you will be single, and you can marry again. If you get divorced, you can ask the judge for orders like child support, spousal support, custody and visitation, domestic violence restraining orders, division of property, and other orders.

Although the procedure and most of the issues involved are the same, a legal separation does not end a marriage. You can't marry someone else if you are legally separated (and not divorced). A legal separation is for couples that do not want to get divorced but want to live apart. The court order generally defines the rights and responsibilities of the spouses between each other while living apart. Couples sometimes prefer separation for religious reasons.

Legal separation is useful when spouses wish to separate but not end the marriage. It is useful for people who do not want to divorce for religious reasons. Or it may be used if one spouse does not want to deprive the other of insurance or pension benefits that person might lose in a divorce.

A divorce is a declaration by a court that a marriage contract is broken and has ended. The divorce occurs on the day the divorce decree is granted by the judge and filed at the courthouse. After the divorce, the two people are legally “single.” They can remarry. This new status may affect their lives in many ways.