An uncontested divorce—also known as an agreed divorce—is a divorce in which the parties are able to agree on all of the issues related to dissolution of their marriage—including the division of property, spousal support, child support, child custody, and child visitation.
Even if the spouses are not able to agree on all of these issues, if they are able to agree on how to handle some or most of these issues, it will reduce the cost and stress of resolving them in the adversarial litigation process.
It is generally not feasible or advisable for spouses to attempt to hire one lawyer to “handle the paperwork” necessary to finalize their divorce. This is because such an arrangement would create a conflict of interest for the lawyer, who would be attempting to represent parties who have conflicting interests in the matter—even if the spouses agree on how to resolve the issues related to the dissolution of their marriage.
It is generally more advisable for the parties to each hire a lawyer and explain to the lawyers that they have agreed on how to resolve the issues related to dissolution of their marriage. One of the lawyers can then create the necessary documents for filing with the court, and the other spouse’s lawyer can review the documents, negotiate any changes, and advise the client-spouse on the legal and other consequences of the documents.
Even such an uncontested or agreed divorce will generally require at least one court appearance (known as a “prove-up”) by the spouses to finalize the divorce.
In Texas, an uncontested divorce, or agreed divorce, is a process where both parties have reached an agreement on all major issues related to the dissolution of their marriage, such as property division, spousal support, child support, custody, and visitation. This type of divorce can be less costly and stressful than a contested divorce, as it avoids the adversarial litigation process. However, it is not recommended for both spouses to hire the same attorney due to potential conflicts of interest. Each spouse should retain their own attorney to ensure their individual interests are represented. One attorney can draft the necessary documents, while the other can review and negotiate any changes, providing legal advice to their client. Despite the agreement between the parties, a court appearance, typically referred to as a 'prove-up,' is still required to finalize the divorce in Texas.
