Choosing Divorce, Divorce Litigation, and Divorce Mediation – Taking Stock of Your Options, Part 6

This post is the sixth in a multi-part series on choosing divorce, divorce litigation, and divorce mediation. If you haven’t already read parts 1-5 I recommend you do before continuing.

Divorce mediation vs divorce litigation

Now that we’ve covered choosing divorce and looked at some tips for preparing for divorce, let’s take a look at some divorce options.

Contested and uncontested divorce

In order to understand divorce mediation versus litigation, first we have to talk about contested and uncontested divorce.

In an uncontested divorce filing, the divorcing parties are in full agreement as to the terms of their divorce. They might have come to this agreement though mediation, through collaborative divorce, or simply through communicating between each other (sometimes called a do-it-yourself divorce). When you file for an uncontested divorce, you’re telling the court that you don’t need to resolve your issues through litigation. Once the filing is complete, a judge will review it for fairness. If they agree that it is a fair agreement, they will sign off on it and the divorce decree will be finalized.

In a contested divorce, on the other hand, the parties are not in agreement as to the terms of their divorce. Instead, the details of their divorce will be decided through negotiations between their attorneys and the court system. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the couple plans to fight out every little detail of their separation in a court room in front of a judge. In fact, the majority of litigated divorces never see a court room. They’re settled before they get that far. All the same, some contested divorce cases do end up being bitter, prolonged, and mutually damaging battles.

Check back soon for Choosing Divorce, Divorce Litigation, and Divorce Mediation – Taking Stock of Your Options, Part 7. In the meantime, check out our page on divorce mediation.

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