When Those Uncontested Divorces Become Contentious

Everyone deciding to terminate their marriage hopes for an easy, uncontested divorce without the stress and negativity that can happen in some cases.

Unfortunately, even some of the most well-intentioned situations can quickly go bad, especially if there is no divorce lawyer to help out.

What should couples do when their amicable, uncontested divorce suddenly becomes problematic?

If they haven’t already, spouses need to individually hire a divorce lawyer to help them wade through the problem areas and come to the necessary agreements to finalize the divorce.

Must Every Divorce Involve An Attorney?

Technically no, but going ahead without an attorney experienced in handling divorce cases can very easily allow a good situation to turn into a bad one, even when both spouses mean well.

Attorneys play a vital role in helping couples make the decisions necessary to have their drafted decree accepted by the court so the divorce can be finalized and avoid problems later on.

A divorce attorney will also ensure that the arrangement made is a fair and legal one so that neither party ends up having to later deal with what they may have unknowingly agreed upon due to his or her inexperience and lack of foresight to anticipate possible problems with the agreement.

This is the important service that attorneys provide for their clients, even when the divorcing spouses are initially able to work together.

How Does An Uncontested Divorce Go Wrong?

When uncontested divorces become contested situations, it’s frequently due to some common yet potentially complicated situations that are not properly negotiated:

Finances - Dividing debt and income as well as determining things like spousal and child support may seem easy enough when filling out the forms and committing to a plan; however, there is a lot of room for financial arrangements to go bad if not carefully written out by a divorce lawyer. This is especially true regarding debt that may have been taken in both names if one spouse stops paying their agreed-upon portion.
Property Division - A simple division of property can go awry in various ways, including the later discovery of hidden or unaccounted for assets, problems with incorrectly divided retirement accounts, inadvertent uneven division of other property, or one spouse facing unexpected expenses or debt as the result of the poor division of marital property.
Child Custody - As honorable as it may be to work out custody agreements together, the truth is that a poorly drafted decree that doesn't cover when parents encounter problems adhering to the agreement or one ;parent breaches the agreement can become a huge point of contention between the couple.

Ultimately, what can happen is that a simple uncontested divorce attempted without the assistance of a divorce lawyer can become an emotional, stressful encounter full of conflict.

When that happens, couples must then find an attorney and start at the beginning to review and revise their agreements, face arguments at this point, and have to change the entire agreement.

Prevent Unexpected Issues - Hire An Experienced Divorce Lawyer

The important point to note is that no matter how seemingly casual and amicable a relationship may be, most divorces should be done with a divorce attorney to prevent an uncontested arrangement from turning into a contested one.

Working with a lawyer experienced in handling contested divorces ensures that everyone’s rights are upheld throughout decision making, the decree contains the necessary details and agreements to handle the potential problems that could arise in the future, and changing circumstances are anticipated to prevent couples from needing to return to court later.

Uncontested divorces can stay that way when spouses involve experienced lawyers to provide the necessary guidance!