What’s The Least Expensive Way To Divorce?
There are many aspects of divorce that makes it a particularly stressful and frustrating experience, and one of them is the cost. It is an unpleasant kind of irony to spend all of your money to determine how to divide it. Luckily, that does not have to be how your divorce unfolds. There are options for divorce that do not even require you to go to court, or hand any decisions over to a judge. We’ll discuss this more below.
Uncontested Divorce
In most cases, an uncontested divorce is the fastest and least expensive way to get divorced. This is because an uncontested divorce does not require the parties to go to court or have lawyers argue before a judge. They avoid this step by coming to an agreement with regard to all issues included in their divorce agreement on their own, without the help of a judge. Although they don’t have a judge to make the decisions for them, it doesn’t mean that they are on their own. In fact, the parties can use lawyers or hire a neutral third-party mediator to help them identify and resolve all necessary issues, as well as to review their proposed divorce agreement and submit it to the court so that a judge can order it into effect. This requires the parties to pay minimal legal fees and to get their marriage dissolved as quickly as possible.
Is there Anyone Who Should Not Attempt an Uncontested Divorce?
In general, there is no harm in attempting an uncontested divorce. This is because if, at any point, the two parties are unable to come to an agreement on an issue, they can simply switch the status to a contested divorce and file a petition with the court. The contested issues will then be litigated in court. However, if you do not trust your spouse or they have a history of fraud, it may not be a good idea to attempt uncontested divorce without the oversight of an attorney or enlisting the services of a forensic accountant. This is because doing so can result in an unfair settlement, since you may not have known about certain assets that your spouse had, or that you had a right to them. If your relationship has involved domestic violence, you may also find it impossible to genuinely feel like you are able to negotiate on your own behalf because of the inherent power dynamic and intimidation. If you are in this situation and there are assets involved or other significant legal issues that must be resolved, such as child custody, it is best to get an attorney and file for divorce with the court.
Contact Us to Schedule a Consultation
If you are interested in getting divorced as efficiently as possible, Bubley & Bubley is here to help. Our Tampa family lawyers will represent your rights and interests and make sure that you get the settlement that you deserve.
Source:
flcourts.org/content/download/403030/file/901b1.pdf