You’ve likely heard that there are both contested and uncontested divorces. The process can happen either way, and it generally just refers to whether or not you and your spouse are on the same page. If it’s an amicable divorce, where you’re able to make decisions together, it is thought of us being uncontested.
But maybe you’re thinking about asking your spouse for a divorce, and you’re worried that they are going to contest it. If they do, does this mean that they’re trying to deny the divorce? Is there a chance that the court will look at their contest and rule in your spouse’s favor, forcing you to stay married?
They can only contest the terms
Fortunately, this is not how it works. Some people believe that the divorce itself is being contested, as if the divorce filing is in dispute. But this is not how courts look at modern divorce cases, and they’re not going to deny your divorce, even if your spouse doesn’t want to split up.
Instead, what your spouse can contest is the terms of the divorce. Maybe they don’t agree with you about how you should divide custody of your children. Maybe they want to split up assets in a way that you don’t believe is fair. When these types of details are contested, then the court has to step in and issue a ruling, but the divorce is going to happen either way.
As such, if you’re moving towards your divorce, it’s very important to understand exactly what legal steps you should take. This is especially true if you believe that your spouse is not going to work with you and that it may be a contested divorce.