Contested Divorce

Contested Divorce actions arise when the parties cannot reach agreement on the issues, and each party usually retains his or her own attorney. A contested Divorce begins when one party files and serves the other party with a complaint for divorce. Thereafter the other party will be given an opportunity to answer the complaint and make any counter-claims.

Once a complaint has been served and answered, the parties may file for temporary or emergency orders from the court. Temporary orders are used by the court to establish ground rules during the pendency of the divorce action. Typical temporary orders include: spousal support, child support, child custody and visitation schedules, payment of marital debt, prohibitions against disposing marital property and orders for one spouse to vacate the marital home.