Connecticut divorces fall into one of the following categories:
Uncontested divorce – all issues are agreed upon.
Limited contested divorce – financial disputes only.
Contested divorce – parenting issues such as custody and visitation are disputed.
Default divorce – the other spouse fails to appear in Court even though they were properly served with the divorce papers.
In some uncontested divorces, the spouses do not really need a lawyer. For example, if the spouses have no children, property or significant assets most people can proceed without an attorney. These types of cases tend to be uncontested right from the start and the divorce is usually granted shortly after the 90 waiting period.
If only all uncontested cases were so easy.
See, the term “uncontested divorce” can be a bit deceiving since many uncontested divorces still involve various levels of litigation.
What an uncontested divorce really means is that the case settled without going to trial. And cases settle at all different stages.
Some settle early on through informal discussions.
Others resolve a touch later and without much flare. Maybe at a Special Masters Conference or with the assistance of a judge at a pretrial meeting.
But there can be a lot of contest in an uncontested divorce.
There are cases which are ultimately “uncontested” that were red hot at one point. You know – the type of case where nasty sounds nice. Motions flying everywhere, tons of court appearances, a slew of depositions, a boatload of documents, extensive investigations and the like.
Yeah that case was uncontested.
Right?