After you and your spouse make the difficult decision to divorce, you may ask yourself if you qualify for an uncontested divorce. Knowing the pros and cons of uncontested divorce can allow you to decide what may be best for your family. Here is everything you need to know about uncontested divorce.
What Is an Uncontested Divorce?
Uncontested divorce means you and your spouse agree on all issues related to your divorce and don’t need the court involved to help you reach decisions. You and your spouse will come to agreements on property division, child custody, children support, and debt. You will work out these issues through mediation or by collaborating with your spouse.
Pluses of Uncontested Divorce
Save Money
You will generally not have to spend as much money on attorney fees with uncontested divorce. Court costs are also usually cheaper because there are fewer court hearings and motions filed. The average couple saves a few thousand dollars by avoiding contested divorce.
Quick Resolution
There are no longer court delays with back-and-forth discovery issues. The average uncontested divorce in New Mexico ends with the judge signing the Final Decree of Divorce within 2 to 3 months. You don’t have to wait long to start picking up the pieces and healing.
Emotional Relief
An uncontested divorce allows you and your spouse to collaborate without the ugliness of a contested divorce. It is less stressful on children when their parents come to agreement without shouting matches. Going through mediation can allow you and your spouse to part on good terms.
Personal Privacy
When you go through a contested divorce, all of your court documents become public records. With uncontested divorce, you and your spouse can keep the details private. You don’t have to worry about neighbors and family members finding out your business.
Minuses of Uncontested Divorce
Legal Ramifications
You may not realize what you are signing away if you don’t have a lawyer representing you. If you and your spouse have complicated finances, there are nuances in the paperwork that you may not know. If you don’t have a lawyer review your documents, you may be signing away your rights to unknown assets or debt.
Mutual Agreement
Both you and your spouse will have to talk and meet each other halfway on every issue. If your spouse decides not to cooperate, you will be stuck in limbo until they are willing to communicate again. Sometimes people are too emotional to compromise even if they don’t mean to.
Complex Issues
If you own a business or have investments, you should hire a lawyer on your side. If you were abused emotionally, physically, or financially by your spouse, you need someone to protect you in court. You should consider contested divorce if you have major disagreements on child custody.
When is the Best Time to File for an Uncontested Divorce?
Uncontested divorce is ideal for any couple who can still communicate without being rude to each other. Couples who were married for a short time and don’t have children together may be able to complete the entire process through mediation. Both spouses ideally should make about the same amount of money and don’t have complicated finances.
There are many reasons you should and shouldn’t use uncontested divorce services. Here are some things to consider:
- Access to finances
- Can both spouses agree on who gets the house, cars, retirement, and savings?
- Child custody concerns
- Can both parents agree to a custody schedule and child support amounts?
- Who gets the pets and furniture?
- Spouses should agree on who will take the family pet and how to split items that can’t be sold.
- Are there any circumstances that may change in the future?
- If you or your spouse think you may remarry or need more child support in the future, you should consider contested divorce.
- Do you understand all of the legal jargon in the documents you are signing?
- You should at least have a general idea of what you are getting yourself into.
Consider Hiring a Divorce Mediator
Divorce mediators act as a guide but will never make decisions for you and your spouse. Mediators help couples work through major issues and help you think of options you didn’t know you had. Hiring a mediator can actually benefit your uncontested divorce because you’ll feel more comfortable with the final outcome.
A professional mediator can take hostile situations and turn them into problem-solving discussions. Many divorcing couples have told us that mediation not only helped them with their divorce but also helped them learn how to communicate for future issues.
Hire a Top Family Law Attorney to Protect Yourself
We know it doesn’t make sense to hire a lawyer for your uncontested divorce. However, it only takes a consultation with The Law Office of Anthony Griego to know you did everything you could to protect yourself. We can sit down with you and review your paperwork before your spouse signs the divorce decree. You don’t have to face the unknown when you can have someone in your corner who knows family law.
Albuquerque Uncontested Divorce
At The Law Office of Anthony Griego, we understand how painful divorce can be for you and your children. We are committed to guiding you every step of the way with our uncontested divorce, mediation and collaborative divorce process. Contact us through our online contact form or call 505-508-3110 to set up your confidential consultation.
