Contested separations can be extremely messy and in most cases there are no winners. Each partner will have to hire a lawyer to represent them. This can be extremely expensive. The court records are open for public scrutiny and couples in a contested separation can therefore not expect any degree of privacy. Contested cases are also often typified by aggressive behaviour and many negative emotions.
Dissolving a marriage can be an extremely complicated affair. There are numerous issues involved, such as the division of assets and liabilities, custody matters, maintenance payments and if there is a prenuptial agreement it can get even more complicated. In uncontested cases couples can discuss all the various issues, often with the help of a lawyer, and come to an amicable agreement.
Even if a marriage is dissolved in the most amicably way possible, it is still important to obtain professional assistance. The laws governing marriage unions and the dissolving of such unions are complex because the rights of all the parties have to be protected. It is therefore best to hire the services of an objective lawyer or counsellor to facilitate the negotiation process. A facilitator can make sure that the agreements reached are fair.
Unfortunately, an amicable dissolving of a marriage is not always possible. In instances where the separation is caused by physical, emotional and sexual abuse, or where one partner simply refuses to cooperate there may be no other option other than to sue for a contested divorce in open court. In some cases a couple simply cannot agree on an important issues such as custody matters or the division of assets.
Even an uncontested separation can become expensive. Lawyers charge by the hour and their rates are not cheap. If both parties are reasonable, they will try their best to come to some form of agreement on most of the issues facing them before involving a lawyer. The lawyer will simply have to check the legality of the decisions made and to draw up a final overall agreement.
Uncontested separations offer many advantages when compared to contested separations. It is private because the agreement reached by the couple is presented to a judge in his chambers and the made an order of the court. The partners involved do not even have to appear in court. It is also much cheaper, with only one lawyer involved.
It is sad when marriages fall apart and statistics show that the divorce rate rises every year. However, if a marriage cannot be saved, the next best thing is to do whatever possible to make the separation as civilized as possible. In this way fewer negative emotions come into play and children are not as badly affected as they would be with a contested case.
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