There is probably no way to get pleasure from a divorce process, cause if it does not hurt a lot emotionally, it at least brings some hassle with papers, court deadlines, and various other bureaucratic problems. Nevertheless, there is a surefire way to ease the procedure – and it is about an uncontested divorce.
The absolute majority of dissolution lawsuits in Indiana (as well as across all the U.S.) are uncontested divorces. Nevertheless, not everyone (among those who have not dealt with the divorce) understands what it is. When people hear the word “divorce,” they usually imagine the litigation, two attorneys who fight for their clients’ interests before the court, blame game, and enormous expenses. But in fact, this is a contested divorce that matches this description.
So what is the difference between contested and uncontested divorce in Indiana, and why an uncontested divorce is so popular nowadays?
The distinction between contested and uncontested dissolution is whether or not you are intended to go through litigation and to dispute your partner’s views on some issues and terms of the splitting up.
An uncontested divorce in Indiana is always less expensive and also takes less time, than a typical contested separation. However, you must clearly realize that if you are going to get an agreed divorce, it is up to you only, how successful the result is.
If the spouses cannot or merely do not wish to share time in order to accomplish a constructive discussion, their divorce process becomes quite complicated. This type of divorce is called a contested dissolution, or divorce without an agreement in Indiana; it usually necessitates both partners to obtain legal representation (to hire an attorney). If your divorce issues are still hard to settle, the judge may appoint a divorce mediator to assist you to communicate and negotiate in an informal setting. And if the mediation fails the spouses run the costly and lengthy trial. Yet in Indiana, the substantial majority of divorcing couples do without a trial in their dissolution cases.
An uncontested dissolution, also known as divorce with agreement in Indiana, entirely shows the essence of its name. Its major condition is an ability and mutual intention of the parties to negotiate both polite and efficient without a court trial and, sometimes, even without a lawyer. The spouses need to reach an agreement concerning the most vital issues of their divorce. Also, they should create and notarize a written Settlement Arrangement covering child-related concerns, the distribution of property, marital assets and financial obligations, alimony issues, and so forth up to family pets and various other specific things which are the most essential for them.
The good news is, thanks to the Internet it is no problem to get all the necessary information, to obtain online assistance, or download the required divorce forms and documents, and also, perhaps, even to arrange the entire procedure of dissolution without an attorney’s support.
Here are some of the helpful features and supporting services on filing for uncontested divorce in Indiana:
Electronic filing for divorce
E-filing is gaining popularity in civil cases and domestic relations, as well as in divorce cases in particular. In Indiana, e-filing for divorce is recognized, yet not every court is on board with the program. So if the spouses interested in electronic filing uncontested divorce in Indiana, they should figure out in which county and court they need to submit the petition for dissolution of the marriage, and also check whether the certain circuit court allows e-filing.
If your court is qualified for e-filing for divorce you should consider this alternative, given that e-filing has several significant advantages. Firstly, even an uncontested dissolution procedure typically required a lot of papers and forms. Multiply the regular uncontested divorce papers kit by three (a copy for you, a copy for your partner, and one more copy for a court’s file) and you have a pretty remarkable amount of “wastepaper.” It feels like an unwelcome contribution to environmental disaster. In a modern-day bureaucracy, it is much better to do without a huge amount of papers.
Secondly, the electronic filing system implies that you obtain automatic (free and permanent) access to all the records connecting to your lawsuit. It is particularly comfortable for those people who have not a lot of spare time. They may complete their documents at any time of the day or night without standing in lines and interacting with the court clerk office staff. So, along with online-shopping, e-banking, and various other advantages of our civilization, electronic filing for uncontested divorce in Indiana appears an attractive possibility.
You just need to create the petition for dissolution of the marriage and sign it. The signed copy needs to be scanned and saved as PDF-file. After that, you should sign up with an electronic filing service provider and outline some necessary data regarding your case and county of applying for a divorce.
Download and submit your divorce petition to the service provider. Afterward, you can get confirmation that the provider has a petition to apply. Then you can get the copies but with the court stamp on them. In brief, that’s how the e-filing for divorce works.
Divorce papers online
Choosing proper divorce forms in accordance with the circumstances of a particular dissolution as well as correct completing of these forms are the essential stages of uncontested divorce in Indiana. While e-filing helps to ease the application procedure, various so-called “online divorce” platforms offer service of online preparation of divorce paperwork. The customer registers with an online divorce site and completes a brief questionnaire, outlining some basic facts of their dissolution terms. The forms are drafting automatically. It is really comfortable that such documents provided by online divorce services are automatically adjusted to the specific case basing on details which were submitted in an online interview. The regulations of the particular county, child-related arrangements, property, and other aspects of the case are taken into account. So, the customer does not need to search for all the info and nuances independently.
Divorce Mediation
Divorce mediation is an alternative method of dispute resolution which can be especially appropriate for the spouses who arrange an uncontested divorce and face the necessity of creating a mutually beneficial settlement agreement or fair parenting plan. The thing is not all divorce issues can be easily resolved even by those spouses who are open to dialogue and ready to cooperate and compromise.
Divorce mediation session implies that the spouses work with a professional and neutral mediator who cannot take the side of either spouse but facilitates honest and straightforward negotiation as well as assists the partners to make their marital settlement agreement or parenting plan.
Divorce mediation is not compulsory in Indiana, though in some counties it may be ordered by the judge (at least one session). Usually, such a court-ordered mediation refers to the spouses who have disputes concerning child-related problems like custody, visitation, or other parental rights and liabilities.
