Divorce Mediation and the Uncontested Divorce

There are two kinds of divorce in New York: uncontested divorces and contested divorces. The logical outcome of divorce mediation, when you have completed negotiating the terms of your divorce agreement, is an uncontested divorce filing. Your attorney submits a packet of documents to the Court which incorporate the terms of your agreement. That submission is processed by the Court matrimonial clerk’s office and, if everything is in order, the Judgment of Divorce is signed by a Judge. The length of this process varies from county to county, usually a few months. In some counties, however, it can be much longer. Your attorney should be able to advise you.

Typically, the draft of the necessary papers for an uncontested divorce is not a complicated process and, in fact, most attorneys charge a flat fee for this service. The more significant task if your mediator’s assistance in helping you negotiate your divorce agreement.

A contested divorce is completely different. If you are unable to negotiate an agreement with your spouse, or if the spouse is simply unwilling to even talk settlement, you are facing a contested divorce. Informality is out the window. You now have a judge involved and all applications to the Court take the form of written pleadings and motions. The courts are busy places. In a typical contested case, you will appear in court at every court date and there will be many of these appearances. Usually, it will take an entire morning or afternoon to wait for your conference to be called. The attorneys speak to the judge and inform the court as to the status of settling the case and the process of preparing the case for trial. (Most cases settle short of trial but, of course, the court and attorneys cannot predict that, and so all litigation proceeds on the assumption that a trial will take place.)

Discovery and document production are lengthy and involved processes requiring minute examination of the parties’ finances going back many years. If there are insoluble issues that pop during the divorce, e.g., custody issues, financial issues, occupancy of the marital home, the attorneys will file motions and responsive motions. Motion practice takes many, many hours.

THE FOREGOING IS EXPENSIVE! VERY EXPENSIVE!

It makes financial sense to mediate. In my next post, I will examine what you need to truly have an uncontested divorce.

If you wish to schedule an initial consultation please contact me at 212-605-0435 or 516-280-3123.