Many spouses work assertively to negotiate an uncontested divorce. They try to settle their own property division matters and make custody arrangements that work for their family if they have minor children together.
Occasionally, spouses may find it very difficult to reach an agreement about how to address their shared property and marital debts. If they cannot work together amicably, then the only option may be to ask a family law judge to resolve their disagreements.
Litigated or contested divorces tend to take much longer to finalize than uncontested divorces. They also tend to cost more because of the extra time spent in court. Those setbacks are inconvenient, but they are far from the biggest concern for divorcing spouses. For many, the most pressing issue is the lack of control that comes from litigated divorce proceedings.
Much is left to a judge’s discretion
If spouses can’t agree on how to address home equity, retirement accounts and shared debts, then they have to give up control over the process. Judges apply the state’s equitable distribution statute when deciding what should happen with individual assets and shared financial obligations.
The judge needs to learn about the circumstances of the marriage. They consider factors including how long the marriage lasted, the contributions of each spouse to the family, the income of both spouses, their separate assets and even custody arrangements.
The goal is to establish an arrangement that is fair and equitable based on the unique circumstances of the couple. Judges can allow one spouse to keep certain assets. They can make either spouse responsible for marital debts. They can even order the liquidation of assets in some cases so that the spouses can share the proceeds from the sale. With so much left to the discretion of the judge, spouses may feel incredibly anxious about what may happen with their finances in the future.
In many cases, finding ways to compromise can help people establish property division terms that meet their needs without giving up control over the outcome. When people are aware of how unpredictable, time-consuming and expensive property division litigation may be, they may find the motivation to cooperate with one another to try to settle issues and establish terms for an uncontested divorce.
Reviewing the circumstances surrounding a divorce with a skilled legal team can help people establish property division goals and decide how to handle disagreements. Spouses who understand the challenges of litigated divorces can sometimes set their emotions aside to work toward an uncontested divorce.
