Wednesday 7 March 2018

With An Uncontested Divorce Atlanta Couples Can Separate With Dignity

By Debra Johnson


There was a time when divorces used to cause shame and even social condemnation. Those days are long gone. Divorces have become an everyday event and numerous people have even married and separated several times. It remains sad, however, when the lives of children are torn asunder because their parents no longer get along together. It is even worse when the two partners separate in anger and recrimination. By agreeing to an uncontested divorce Atlanta couples can keep the entire affair low key.

Contested cases have many serious drawbacks. Firstly, such cases are heard in open court and all the court records are available for scrutiny by the public and the press. Then there is the cost of legal representation. Each partner will have to hire a separate lawyer and if they cannot agree on issues such as custody and the division of their assets, the case can become prohibitively expensive and time consuming.

When the separation is not contested both partners agree to the terms of the separation without turning to the courts. Experts agree that separating couples should not attempt to reach such agreements without some professional help. This professional knows the laws governing divorces and will make sure that a proper legal agreement is achieved. The benefit is that these negotiations take place in private and only one professional is needed.

Most lawyers can act as mediators in divorces, but it is not necessary to hire an expensive legal expert. A much cheaper option would be to use a specially trained counsellor that is licensed to perform this work. These counsellors know exactly how to steer their clients towards an agreement on all the issues that are involved in the separation process.

There can be no doubt that mediation is a far superior solution than a contested case in open court. There are exceptions, however. In some cases, at least one of the partners refuse to be reasonable or to compromise. They may even be aggressive and abusive. In this type of case mediation cannot work. The only remaining option is to battle things out in court.

Couples can save even more money if they limit the time spent with the counsellor or lawyer. This can be achieved by privately discussing and agreeing on all the major issues in a rational and adult manner. In such cases their decisions can simply be conveyed to the mediator, who will then focus on the few remaining issues only. This approach will also help to speed up the entire process.

Once there is agreement on all issues, the mediator will compile an agreement that will then be presented to a judge. In the majority of cases the judge will simply rubber stamp this agreement and make it into a court order. The details of the agreement is not open to public scrutiny and the separating partners do not have to appear in court at all.

Contested divorces are not just hideously expensive but they can cause long term emotional damage to everyone involved. In fact, in bitterly contested cases both partners often walk away much poorer than they would have if they rather opted for a mature and reasonable separation. All too often the lawyers are the only winners in such cases.




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