What is the Difference Between a Contested and an Uncontested Divorce in Miami, Florida?

When you make the difficult decision to go to proceed with your divorce, it is important to discuss the issues that are in dispute with your Attorney. If there are no issues in dispute and an Agreement can be prepared at the commencement of the case, then you have an Uncontested Divorce. If there are no children and no property or debts in dispute, this would be called a Simple Divorce. This is one type of Uncontested Divorce.

The majority of Uncontested Divorces in Miami, Florida and elsewhere are done by a Marital Settlement Agreement and/or a Property Settlement Agreement and a Parenting Plan when children are involved. To settle most cases it is necessary for both sides to comply with Discovery or Mandatory Disclosure in Florida. This involves an exchange of important documents involving assets, debts, income, Real Property, etc.

These documents allow a Family Law Attorney in Florida to properly determine how to divide up the parties assets and debts and determine child support and alimony if necessary.

To enable a case to become uncontested both parties must be willing and open to negotiating a Settlement. This can be accomplished by the two Attorneys sending offers back and forth or by going to a Settlement Conference or Mediation. An experienced Attorney should be able to explain the benefits of reaching Settlement rather than going to Trial.

The majority of the cases in the State of Florida, and in Miami, are resolved by Settlement. The Legislature in the State of Florida have created laws which try to simplify the process and resolve most cases in an amicable manner.

Unfortunately, the system is not perfect and the opinions of the Attorneys and feelings of the clients may play a role in creating Contested Divorces when the matters can be amicably resolved.

The negative result of Contested Divorces is that they take a much longer time to conclude and the costs to Attorneys go up as the litigation continues.

It is extremely important to hire an experienced Attorney who is open upon the risks and rewards of both settling your case and litigating when necessary.

The Law Offices of Kenneth M. Kaplan, Esquire, are prepared to advise you in an upon and honest way to achieve your goals. Please contact our Law Office at either 305-666-9797 or 954-260-5479 to speak with Mr. Kaplan.