What Is an Uncontested Divorce?

What Makes a Divorce Uncontested? Is It the Same Thing as a “No-Fault” Divorce?

The end of a marriage can be emotionally devastating, even if it’s in your best interests and you had plenty of time to prepare for it. Often, when a marriage has been contentious, a spouse is just ready to be done. That may be an incentive for you to let the divorce complaint remain uncontested. What does that mean? What is the potential impact when your divorce is uncontested? Is it the same thing as a “no-fault” divorce?

What Is an Uncontested Divorce?

To successfully complete a divorce and legally end a marriage, one of the parties to the marriage must file a divorce complaint. Typically, the other party will file an answer to the allegations set forth in the complaint, and the parties will either negotiate the terms of custody, visitation, support, and property distribution, or have the court resolve those issues. In an uncontested divorce, neither party raises any challenge to the allegations or assertions of the other party.

A divorce may be uncontested for a couple of reasons:

• The parties have already discussed all the issues addressed in the divorce and come to an agreement—Accordingly, there are no issues that need to be resolved through the legal process.
• The party upon whom the divorce complaint is served takes no action in response—The responding party has a certain amount of time to file an answer. If the answer is not filed in time, the court may grant the divorce by default. The court will then make determinations of custody, visitation, support, and property allocation without input from the non-responding spouse.

Why Might You Decide Not to Contest a Divorce Complaint?

There are three principal reasons why individuals or parties will allow a divorce to be uncontested:

• The parties simply agree on everything—In some fortunate cases, a divorce is amicable, and the two people are ready to go their separate ways without any points of contention.
• The divorce can be completed in a short amount of time—When the issues are not contested, many of the factors that extend the time to get a divorce can be avoided. You won’t have to engage in the discovery process, where the parties share evidence about marital debts and assets, and you won’t have to address factors that affect who gets primary custody and how visitation will be structured.
• The parties can minimize the cost of the divorce—When the issues are uncontested, there’s less need for legal counsel. That doesn’t mean, though, that it’s a good idea to handle everything yourself. Even though you’re in agreement, you may need an attorney to help determine child support and address other tricky issues. Furthermore, you want to make certain that all documents are accurately and timely filed, so that you accomplish your objectives.

Is an Uncontested Divorce the Same Thing as a “No-Fault” Divorce?

No. An uncontested divorce is one where the parties have no disagreements about custody, visitation, support, or property distribution. A “no-fault” divorce, on the other hand, is one where neither party alleges that the other party “caused” the divorce. In a fault-based divorce, one party alleges grounds such as adultery, abandonment, or cruelty. Making such allegations can help a party get an upper hand in custody, visitation, support, or property distribution matters.

But all 50 states allow for no-fault divorce. In many jurisdictions, the “no-fault” grounds for divorce is known as “irreconcilable differences.” The parties to a no-fault divorce may still disagree on certain matters relating to custody, support, or property distribution, so a no-fault divorce is not necessarily uncontested.