What is an Uncontested Divorce?

If you and your spouse have a relatively uncomplicated estate and agree on all the issues of your divorce, you may have what is called an “uncontested divorce.”

For the divorce to be truly uncontested, you would need to agree on all of the primary issues associated with the divorce, including:

• Child custody, visitation and parenting time/responsibilities
• Amount and duration of child support
• Amount and duration of alimony
• Division of marital debts and assets

If you agree on all of these items, there is no need for you to go to court to argue your case. Instead, you create a written agreement with all the details about the above items (as applicable) and file forms with the court.

Your agreement will still need to be approved by a judge. The only circumstance in which a judge would not approve an agreement willingly entered into by both parties would be if it was clearly unfair to one person, or if there were any evidence that one of the parties was under duress or unduly pressured to enter into the agreement (such as one party being a victim of domestic abuse).

Uncontested divorces tend to feature couples with fewer assets or complexities, as the more complexities there are, the harder it is to come to an agreement on everything. So, for example, couples who have a lot of assets or minor children are capable of achieving an uncontested divorce, but will find it more challenging to do so than couples with no children and few assets.

For more information about uncontested divorce and whether or not it’s a feasible option in your case, contact an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.