"Don't worry, my divorce is uncontested!" Really, are you sure about that?

I cannot tell you how many people come into my office believing that their divorce is uncontested simply because their spouse has told them that they don't want to "fight" or because they really desire to have an uncontested divorce so that they can save money in what can be a costly litigation process. However, no divorce is uncontested unless you and your spouse have come to a full agreement upon the terms of your divorce. You don’t have to present a written document to your attorney for an attorney to consider your matter to be uncontested. You must, however, have reached a “meeting of the minds” with your spouse on issues such as the distribution of property, the waiver of retirement benefits, what will happen with cars, bank accounts, and most importantly, your children. If you and your spouse do not agree upon these issues, your divorce is not uncontested.

If this is you and you want your divorce to be uncontested, it would be best for you to talk to your spouse about what you can and cannot agree upon. Once you have done that, you can have more confidence in going to an attorney to secure an uncontested divorce. Turn your fear into power by controlling the terms of your divorce now.