Contested Divorce Versus Non Contested Divorce

In San Diego Family Law Court, there are both contested divorces and non-contested divorces. San Diego has many cases of both these types. The issues for both these types are almost the same in many cases: visitation; custody; spousal support; child support; attorney fees; asset and debt division. Also, all cases are unique and need to be legally analyzed individually. In San Diego, both of these types of divorces are filed in the San Diego Family Law Court Houses that deal with family legal affairs: downtown San Diego; Vista; Chila Vista and El Cajon. It is good and highly advised [and should be the goal of both the parties] to have non-contested divorces since this wll lead to less legal fees and costs as well as moving forward with life and not spending years in litigation and court hearings if at all avoidable. Feel free to contact the Law Firm of Doppelt and Forney, APLC for a complimentary virtual consultation by calling 800-769-4748. Your case can be individually analyzed for legal strategies and procedures by an experienced family law attorney.

Cases for contested divorces involve scenarios like the payor in support of the case wanting to pay a lesser amount than the payee in support of the case who is asking to pay more. For child support, there is a program which is used by the San Diego Famly Law Court Judges called the Disso Master and is California State Law. As such, an intelligent and informed decision as to the amount of child support can be made after the support calculation is run. Both parties should consider what numbet the guideline is before litigation. So a non-contested support agreement should be a better choice. However, it is also possible that a midway can be taken and some issues are contested while others left non-contested. In San Diego, contested divorces are heard and held in law courts that are dedicated to hearing family related legal affairs. The court in San Diego has the authority and power over the issues related to a divorce. Orders are made, in a Request for Order that are temporary like child support, spousal support, custody, visitation, vehicle use, residence use, etc. and are filed and served and then a hearing set.

Orders that are made before judgment are called temporary orders. Permanent orders are when judgment is entered and there can be post judgment motions. Some of the permanent orders include division and/or use of a vehicle, residence, spousal support, parenting plan, and child support. The Judge listens to these cases at the time when trials are heard and makes decisions according to the law for family matters in California per the Family Law Code. their orders and decisions are then turned into judgments, and if litigation or agreements after that, then they come under post judgments as above.

The non-contested divorces, on the other hand, in San Diego, are those in which the Judge does not make rulings after a hearing and/or trial and the parties decide matters outside the court. Instead of getting the rulings and orders from a Judge, in a non-contested divorce, both parties reach their own agreements. Agreements in a non-contested divorce might also include some temporary orders like visitation, custody, spousal support, child support, attorney fees, and temporary use of vehicle or residence.

There can also have orders that are permanent such as debts and assets division. There are also cases where both parties can reach an agreement that goes like this: settle all the permanent and temporary orders through a marital settlement agreement, which is then presented to a Judge, along with the judgment pleadings. The requirements pertaining to such cases and scenarios are pretty complicated and tough to understand. They are written in both the Local Rules for San Diego County and the Law Code for the family in California and there is a judgment checklist for uncontested cases on the San Diego Superior Court County website.

Many couples also reach an agreement during their divorce process and agree on a settlement even if their case started as a contested divorce. Such agreements could be made on financial terms or a settlement to end the pursuit of divorce even before the time of the trial arrives. Thus an end to litigation can be assumed in such a case, and both parties should get their settlement documented to proceed with the legalities.

Feel free to contact us and we are here to guide you on the matters related to contested and non-contested divorces. The attorneys at Doppelt and Forney, APLC have experience in counseling clients for legal issues, negotiating settlement and litigating if no settlement. Their office has full time experienced San Diego Family Law Lawyers and staff to assist you during this most difficult time in your life.