Atlanta Divorce Attorney Blog

There are several do-it-yourself, uncontested divorce web sites for people to download forms to help them with their divorce in Georgia. We have had several people contact us recently about helping them finalize their divorce in Cherokee County. In each case they had paid an online, self-help web site to put together their forms to file for divorce. The couples had fortunately mediated their issues and entered a divorce agreement without hiring a Canton or Woodstock divorce lawyer. The problem arose when they went to the Judge to approve their uncontested divorce. Their Cherokee County divorce paperwork did not meet the requirements for the Court to approve their divorce, and the Court recommended that they hire a Canton, Georgia divorce lawyer to finalize their divorce.

In the end, they had to hire a Canton divorce attorney to get their uncontested divorce approved. So, to answer the question posed in the title of this blog, I would have to say that it depends on how much money they spent. On a positive note, the divorce paperwork they received from the web site allowed them to settle all of their issues on their own without the need for a divorce lawyer. From this perspective, the money they spent was probably worth it.

For the divorcing couple considering spending money on a self-help divorce web site, they need to consider whether the web site is familiar specifically with the rules of the County in which they are filing for a divorce. For the divorces in Cherokee County, I would suggest that if they spend the money on a divorce web site to try to settle their issues, they should take their divorce paperwork to a Canton or Woodstock divorce lawyer in Georgia to review the paperwork prior to submitting it to the Judge. The divorce lawyer can make sure that it meets the requirements of the Court. Otherwise, the divorcing couple may miss several days of work going to Court to get their divorce finalized. Moreover, it could delay the divorce being granted by months.

If you are thinking about filing for divorce and you contact an attorney, one of the first questions they will ask you is whether your divorce is going to be contested or uncontested. Often, the answer to that question is not so simple.

Generally speaking, when we ask that question we are trying to determine whether you and your spouse have discussed some (or all) of the issues that may be involved in your divorce and how far apart the two of you have been in those discussions. If you and your spouse have worked out all of the issues, such as equitable division, alimony, and child support, prior to contacting an attorney, then your divorce will most likely be uncontested. From an attorney’s perspective, in an uncontested divorce, an attorney for one of the parties will draft a settlement agreement reflecting the agreement, both parties will review it, there will be minimal, if any, changes to the agreement, and then it will be ready for the parties to sign and file with the court.

A contested divorce, on the other hand, generally refers to a situation where you may not have spoken to your spouse about the issues in your divorce or that you have been unable to come to an agreement upon the terms of the settlement agreement. In this type of matter, your attorney will negotiate the terms of the settlement agreement (if possible) with your spouse or, if applicable, the opposing attorney. While certainly some of these types of cases ultimately lead to litigation and eventually a trial, it is important to understand that the vast majority of these “contested” cases result in the parties ultimately resolving their differences outside of a courtroom.

Sometimes, it is difficult to determine whether a divorce is uncontested or contested in the beginning and what may seem to be an uncontested divorce can ultimately turn out to be contested in the end. The key question is whether you perceive that you and your spouse can work things out over the course of a divorce, but whether you have already done so. Hopefully this blog gives you a little better idea of what an attorney is really asking when he/she asks if your divorce is contested or uncontested.