Uncontested Divorce
To dissolve your marriage by
an uncontested divorce both
parties to the marriage must
agree on all issues.
For simplicity purposes, the
areas that must be agreed
upon include how the parties
will divide all marital
assets and all marital
debts, meaning who will
receive what assets and who
will pay what debts, and in
what specific amounts.
In an uncontested divorce,
the parties are free to
divide assets in essentially
any manner they desire so
long as each party agrees.
Similarly, the parties are
free to divide the debt of
the marriage in any manner
they desire. The
parties' to be divorced must
then have their agreement
reduced to a written
document known as a "marital
dissolution agreement," also
commonly referred to as a
"MDA."
If the parties to be
divorced have a child or
children born during the
marriage they must also
agree on several issues
pertaining directly to the
child/children. Such
issues include, but are not
limited to who will be
named as the "primary
residential parent," when
visitation with the
child/children will take
place, and what amount of
money will be paid each
month as child
support. Under Tennessee
law, the term "primary
residential parent" has
replaced the term custodian.
As such, the primary
residential parent is the
parent with whom the
child/children will
primarily reside during the
year. The other parent
is obligated to pay child
support to the primary
residential parent for the
benefit, care, and
maintenance of the
child/children. This
third category of issues
that must be agreed to where
children have been born of
the marriage also must be
reduced to writing.
The specific document that
will memorialize the
parties' agreement in
regard to all issues
pertaining to the children
is known as a "permanent
parenting plan." Apart
from these issues pertaining
to the children, the
parenting plan also
addresses several other
issues regarding the
children and the parties
agreement as to how the
child/children will be
raised after the parties'
divorce is final.
Many parties prefer an
uncontested divorce to a
contested divorce. As
a general rule, an
uncontested divorce is a
much quicker method to
dissolve the marriage.
If there are no children and
the parties have signed a
marital dissolution
agreement as addressed
above, a divorce may be
entered by the court after
sixty (60) have elapsed
following the filing of a
divorce complaint with the
court. Where there are
children born of the
marriage, a divorce may be
entered and finalized after
ninety (90) days have
elapsed. Additionally, in an
uncontested divorce the
marriage may be ended on the
ground of "irreconcilable
differences."
Irreconcilable differences
essentially means that the
parties simply no longer can
get along and cannot remain
together as husband and
wife. No further
explanation has to be given
and no witnesses are
required to testify as to
the reasons for the divorce.
An additional major benefit
to ending the marriage in an
uncontested divorce
proceeding is that the cost
of attorney fees are
considerably less for both
parties thereby saving money
that would be spent in
litigating a contested
divorce.
In addition to these issues
you may desire to address
other issues such as
alimony, the division of
future retirement benefits
and the affect of a future
move after the divorce by
one of the parties to
another city or state.
Key Facts and Benefits of
Uncontested Divorces
- marriage may be ended
quickly
- parties reasons for the
divorce remain private
and no witnesses are
required. In many
courts, the parties do
not have to go to court
for the final hearing.
- cost to obtain the
divorce is much cheaper
than a contested
divorce.
Contested Divorce
If you and your spouse can
not agree to end the
marriage in an uncontested
fashion, if one of the
parties does not want a
divorce, or an agreement
cannot be reached as to
either how assets, or debts
will be divided, or as to
any issue regarding the
children will be resolved,
the marriage cannot be
dissolved in an uncontested
divorce. Instead, a
contested divorce will have
to be sought if a divorce is
to occur. In a
contested divorce the party
requesting the divorce must
prove that a ground for the
divorce exists by developing
and presenting evidence to the court. evidence that
establishes grounds for a divorce comes in many forms and
includes documents, receipts, letters, admissions, witness
testimony, and on occasion photographs and/or recordings.
(See Evidence
Issues).
As Tennessee is a fault state, if no ground exists that
makes a divorce proper, the
courts will not grant a
divorce. Tennessee law
recognizes several grounds
upon which the marriage may
be dissolved. These
grounds, or reasons, include
but are not limited to inappropriate marital
conduct, adultery,
and abandonment.
These three grounds are
among the more common
grounds upon which contested
divorces are entered.
However, several other
grounds exist at law which
are not listed or addressed
here. As such, you
should seek legal advice to
determine if one of the
above three grounds or any
other ground not listed here
may exist thereby warranting
a contested divorce.
The time that it will take
for a contested divorce to
be obtained if a ground can
be proven often depends upon
the actions taken by the
parties during the
litigation, the specific
issues that will be
addressed in the suit,
and the specific court in
which the divorce is filed.
As a general rule, the more
issues that are involved and
disputed, the longer it will
take to prepare the case for
trial. As the time and
work required by a contested
divorce is greater than that
required by an uncontested
divorce, a contested divorce
is typically more expensive
than an uncontested divorce.
Issues in a contested
divorce that may be involved
include, but are not limited
to the following: alimony;
custody over children (i.e.
designation of a primary
residential parent; the
amount of child support that
will be paid; visitation
(i.e. the child/children's
residential schedule);
whether any portion of the
other party's retirement may
be obtained; disputes over
whether assets are marital
property subject to being
divided or separate property
that may not be divided by
the court; identification
and valuation of debt and
assets; and the development
of evidence necessary to
prove the ground/grounds for
the divorce itself.
Key Facts of Contested
Divorces
- contested divorce is
required when the
parties cannot agree on
one or more issues to be
addressed in the
divorce.
- contested divorce will
not be granted by the
court unless a specific
ground recognized at law
for the divorce is
proven in court or
stipulated to by the
opposing spouse.
- time that it will take
to obtain a divorce
depends upon several
factors including the
number of issues to be
addressed, the
difficulty of each
issue, and the specific
court in which the
divorce suit is filed.
- issues may be involved
in a contested divorce.
Such issues are not
limited to but include:
alimony; custody; child
support; visitation;
division of future
retirement benefits;
identification,
classification,
valuation, and division
of property and debts,
and proving the grounds
for the divorce.
- costs of a contested
divorce is greater than
the cost for an
uncontested divorce as
the issues are contested
and the work and time
involved is greater than
that involved in an
uncontested divorce.
Conclusion
These and all other issues
should be addressed with an
attorney regardless of
whether an uncontested or
contested divorce will be
sought. Failure to
fully inform yourself of the
law and your rights can lead
to needless stress and
anxiety and may have serious
consequences. The
attorneys of Batson, Nolan, Pearson, Miller & Joiner
realize that
regardless of whether you
are contemplating filing a
divorce suit, or whether you
are yourself faced with a
spouse who desires a divorce
that it is a very trying
time in your life. Our
attorneys are well versed in
divorce law and have earned
an excellent reputation
representing our divorce
clients before the Circuit
and Chancery courts in the
State of Tennessee and the
Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Should you retain us to
represent you in this
difficult time, you will
receive individual attention
and will be advised as to
all applicable options in
your case and the potential
benefits and detriments of
decisions that will have to
be made. We also
understand that when you
have questions and concerns
that you need to speak with
your attorney in a timely
and efficient manner.
As such, counsel at Batson, Nolan, Pearson, Miller & Joiner
will maintain regular
contact with you throughout
your divorce and will be
available to address your
questions and concerns when
needed.
JMMiller@batsonnolan.com
