Texas residents know that dealing with a divorce is hard. Dealing with a contested divorce is even harder. Divorces by their nature are very difficult on spouses because they signify the death of their union. In an uncontested divorce, the legal process goes through pretty quickly. The couple agrees on how to split assets, and they agree on issues regarding children and anything else.
A contested divorce is very different. In a contested divorce, one spouse disagrees with any part of the case, including child custody, financial support, or even the very idea of the divorce.
What happens in a contested divorce?
A contested divorce means that the couple cannot agree on their divorce issues. They need to go to court in order to have a judge make the decisions for them. Some contested divorces revolve around one issue, while others revolve around several issues.
During a contested divorce, each spouse must go through several steps.
- One spouse has to file the divorce petition, the legal document that asks for the divorce and states that the marriage is over.
- The other spouse has to respond to the petition. They will then have to hire attorneys and enter the discovery portion of the divorce. During discovery, each attorney will get information from everyone from third-party witnesses to the spouses themselves in the form of depositions, written questions, and subpoenas.
- The next step in the process involves the pretrial hearings and pretrial motions. Once this portion of the process is over, the attorneys for both parties will enter settlement negotiations. If those negotiations break down, the couple needs to go to a court trial.
- At the trial, the judge will make the final decision. If one party disagrees with the judge’s decision, they’ll be able to file an appeal.
Where can people dealing with contested divorces get help?
Divorces are tough but contested divorces are much harder. People dealing with contested divorces may benefit by working with attorneys who have experience managing tough divorce cases. These attorneys may be able to help with everything from appeals to tough financial negotiations.