Once you have made an informed decision that you will seek a divorce, the next question to decide is whether it will be contested or uncontested. One of the main reasons to make this determination is so that you can decide how to proceed legally, and so that you can obtain some idea of how much this process will cost.

For example, a true uncontested divorce of a couple, married for 2 years with no children, renting an apartment furnished with the belongings each brought to the marriage, and little or no savings, will cost very little in legal fees. Many would argue that an uncontested divorce could be handled without an attorney in an effective manner. We do not believe that handling a divorce without an attorney is ever a sound idea because of the multitude of legal issues that can often arise after the divorce, but quite frankly, there are some cases in which you may not need an attorney.

In making this determination, it is important to note that most spouses, if asked early on, would claim that their divorce would be uncontested. Then all of a sudden, the issue of children, visitation rights, child support and similar issues, seem to arise without warning and create a number of contests between the spouses. The result is that many divorces that seem, on their fact to be uncontested, may be contested, and one ought to learn more to help decide what type of divorce yours will be.

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