When is a divorce considered “uncontested?”

During a divorce, multiple issues will need to be resolved. These include issues such as custody and visitation of minor children, division of marital property and marital debts, alimony/spousal support, and child support. At the end of the proceeding, the court will enter its “Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.” This is a court order that will set forth the court’s resolution of all issues applicable to the dissolution of the couple’s marriage. An uncontested divorce is one where the spouses are able to reach an agreement on all of these issues, usually prior to filing the divorce proceedings. If the parties are able to reach agreement on these issues, their agreement should be reduced to writing in a Marital Property Settlement Agreement. (MPSA) The MPSA will then be presented to the family law court and will form the basis for the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. Because the Marital Property Settlement Agreement will govern so many important issues and will be binding on the parties, it should be prepared by an experienced family law attorney.