The decision to file for divorce from your spouse is difficult, and the process of going through a divorce is no easier. When you or your spouse cannot agree on the terms and conditions outlined in the initial divorce agreement, one or both of you might contest the divorce. Ideally, you can come up with an agreement that splits debts and assets fairly, that handles child custody, alimony, and child support matters fairly and equally. In reality, this doesn’t happen often.
A contested divorce is one in which the entire process is prolonged one or more times due to a disagreement. Whoever files first for divorce is permitted to outline their wants and needs in the initial paperwork. If you, for example, are the person who files for divorce, it’s your legal right to state what you want in terms of your assets and the kids, and you file that paperwork with the court in the Bronx. When the court presents the divorce papers to your spouse, he or she has the right to respond with what they want in addition to or directly contesting what you want. This is a divorce response.
The Divorce Response
If your spouse returns his or her response with different wants and needs, it’s your job to agree with them or disagree. If you disagree, you might be asked to spend some time in mediation to work through your disagreement. Mediation is a process in which you and your spouse spend time with a neutral third party who knows neither of you and has no financial or personal interest in the outcome of your agreement. It is the hope of the court you can both agree to something in this mediation process. If not, the divorce can be further contested by one or both of you.
- How to divide the marital assets such as the bank accounts and homes
- How to divide marital properties
- Who gets custody of the kids and how
- If visitation and other child rights are permitted
- Alimony payments
- Child support payments
- The division of marital debt
If this is your situation
Stop reading. Start defending.
These are a few of the more common examples of items that are most commonly contested in the divorce, but there are many more. Perhaps you can agree on everything but who gets the family dog, and that’s what is causing your divorce process to take long. When one or both of you contest the divorce, it causes the process to take longer.
Can An Attorney Help Me Fight a Contested Divorce?
It’s possible you can work through your contested divorce on your own, but the many laws, stipulations, and requirements it takes to get through this legal process can be quite intimidating for someone who has little to no knowledge of the law and what it means to go through a divorce. Most people find it’s in their best interest to hire a divorce attorney who has ample experience working with clients in the midst of a contested divorce.
If you’re going through a simple divorce, once that’s uncontested due to the agreement of all marital conditions, an attorney is not necessary. It’s when one of you decides to fight harder for certain marital assets, debts, kids, or property that the process becomes legally complicated. To win what you’re looking for in your divorce, you must have an attorney on your side who can present a strong case that helps you get what you’re looking for.
Your attorney knows what helps you get what you’re looking for out of the end of your marriage when your spouse is contesting it at every turn. Your attorney fights for you by helping you find the appropriate reason to fight for what you want.
- Where you mistreated or abused in in the marriage?
- Were you abandoned for one year or longer by your spouse?
- Was there adultery?
- Was there imprisonment for more than three years?
- Was there a separation agreement on paper in addition to living apart for one or more years?
If you have any of these issues to prove, you can benefit significantly by hiring a divorce attorney. The law is complex, and it’s not always easy for someone emotionally invested in a marriage and divorce to see it for what it is. An attorney sees the law as black and white and can help you prove your case to stop the contesting of the divorce.
Divorce Laws in New York
The law is complex, and it’s usually very personal. It’s easier for you to win a contested divorce if you can prove your spouse is merely fighting you in an effort to drag out the proceedings to keep temporary spousal support coming, to require you pay more for attorney fees, or simply to spite you. Your spouse might not even want all the things he or she claims they want because they’re just looking for a reason to get you to lose what you love and want in the marriage. Let an attorney help you by working with the confines of the law to prove your case.
Depending on your personal situation, your spouse could be in violation of some former agreements, of breaking the law, and of not providing the proper care for the kids if custody is your problem. Let an attorney help you fight for what you want.