Uncontested Divorce

What Is An Uncontested Divorce?

In some cases, two divorcing parties agree on the terms of separation, without the need for litigation in a court of law. These couples are in agreement on basic matters such as financial and property division, custodial rights, asset and estate division, legal expenses and living arrangements. When a couple divorces under amicable circumstances, choosing not to go the route of litigation, the divorce is called an uncontested divorce proceeding.

Uncontested Divorce: Mediation Through Collaboration

Often mediation can lead to an uncontested divorce. Divorce mediation is an alternative to traditional divorce litigation and can be significantly less expensive than litigation. Less adversarial approaches to divorce settlements have recently emerged, such as mediation and collaborative divorce, which negotiate mutually acceptable resolution to conflicts.

Uncontested Divorce: The "No Fault" clause

Under a no-fault divorce system the dissolution of a marriage does not require an allegation or proof of fault of either party to be shown. Common reasons for no-fault divorce include:

• Incompatibility
• Irreconcilable differences
• Irremediable breakdown of the marriage

Forty-nine of the 50 United States have adopted no-fault divorce laws. Fault divorces used to be the only way to end a marriage, and people who had differences only had the option to separate (and were prevented from legally remarrying). In the United States, only the state of New York still requires fault for a divorce. All other states have adopted no-fault divorce statutes.

Uncontested Divorce: Additional Resources

• Academic Divorce Research, Columbia Law School
• Divorce Information from WikiPedia Online Encyclopedia
• Matrimonial Matters, NY State Unified Court System