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Did you know that it is not possible to “contest a divorce” in Nebraska? That’s right – in 100% of filed cases the divorce itself is “uncontested” because the law does not allow for contested divorces as a Lincoln, NE uncontested divorce lawyer can explain.
Nebraska is a “no-fault” state for divorce. This means if one person wants a divorce, the divorce will be granted. This means that if one party behaved badly in the marriage, such as cheating (sexually or emotionally), hiding money, being abusive, etc. – those bad behaviors or “faults” are not really part of the judge’s decision-making process and typically have no effect on the outcome.
You may have heard people talk about their divorce nightmares where they could not agree with their spouse about any issue – from the house to the holidays with the kids to who gets the credit card rewards points. Those are all issues that can come up within a divorce case that might be contested or tried to the Court. Issues in a divorce can include (but are not limited to): premarital property, gift or inheritance, settlement monies, real property, credit card debt or rewards points, airline miles, business ownership interests, tools and equipment, tax debts and returns, spousal support, insurance coverage, home repairs during proceedings, medical expenses, holiday time with children, school and daycare enrollment, medical decision making, farm leases, retirement loans, individual education plans for children, pet custody, transportation and extracurricular activities, personal property division, vehicles, and many more.
Often when a person is looking into an “uncontested” divorce, they are wondering what happens if the parties agree on the outcome. As a divorce attorney with about 20 years of experience, Attorney Gorden reminds parties that a divorce is truly only uncontested after ALL of the agreements are signed – Property Settlement, Parenting Plan, Financial Plan – AND the Court has approved the agreements and signed the Decree. Until then, if you do not have an agreement on every single issue within your divorce, your divorce case is not truly “uncontested” because there are “contested” (disagreed) issues to be resolved. For example, if you and your spouse agree that you will spend equal time with the children on a week on/week off basis, but one person wants to exchange on Wednesdays and the other person wants to exchange on Sundays and neither party is compromising – you have a contested custody case.
Another common misconception is that a divorce is “uncontested” because the parties agree who should keep which car or house or the kitchen gadgets…however the parties don’t understand that the value of the assets matters even if they were acquired before marriage. Because the court will look at the total amount of value each party is receiving in a property division, it is not always a fair agreement to have each party keep his or her own retirement or vehicle, for example, if the total of all the assets or debts one party is keeping makes the division lopsided. Often, parties may believe they reached agreements but without those being spelled out in writing and signed, a party may change his or her mind at any time or each party may have a different understanding of what was meant. This is particularly dangerous when a breakdown in communication is often the reason the marital relationship is ending in the first place.
Best Path During A Divorce
The best option to ensure you truly have an uncontested divorce in Nebraska is to have the advice of an experienced family law attorney to go through all issues that may need to be addressed in your divorce and make sure both sides truly agree on. This can be done by each party having his or her own attorney, having only one party have an attorney to draft the documents, or by the parties utilizing a mediator who is also an experienced family law attorney to ask the right questions. They can also help you craft a budget for your divorce.
To learn more about what issues might make your divorce uncontested or contested, contact GordenLaw, LLC as we have been rated Best Family Lawyers in Lincoln by Expertise.com, and ask about a strategy session today!
