A contested divorce is appropriate when your spouse does not agree either to divorce or to terms of the divorce.  The first step in your divorce is to schedule an appointment with our office for a free consultation.  At the initial consultation you will provide us with information concerning your situation and we will advise you of your rights, options and give you an idea of the cost of the divorce.

      If you wish to proceed with your divorce, you would sign a retainer agreement.  The retainer agreement is a document, which states that we represent you regarding your divorce and that we get paid based upon the amount of time that we spend on your case.

      Typically, once we are retained we would send your spouse a letter requesting that he or she have his or her attorney contact us.  If your spouse or your spouse’s attorney does contact us we would exchange financial statements and attempt to negotiate an agreement concerning the terms of the divorce.  If we were successful in reaching an agreement we would include it in the terms of the divorce.  If your situation requires a more aggressive approach we would skip the initial letter to your spouse and immediately have your spouse served with the summons for divorce.

      If your spouse or spouse’s attorney doesn’t contact us or if we can’t agree on terms we would have a process server personally deliver a summons to your spouse.  Once your spouse is served he or she must provide us with a written respond within 20 days if served in New York or 30 days if served outside of New York.

      The vast majority of divorce cases don’t get to trial.  They usually get settled along the way, however that doesn’t mean that you case doesn’t get to a judge.  The first time that your case goes to court is when a preliminary conference is held.  The purpose of the preliminary conference is to set a schedule for discovery.  During the discovery process each spouse discloses his or her assets and liabilities.  This is followed by a compliance conference, during which the judge checks to see if each party has followed the schedule of discover that was set during the preliminary conference.

      If a settlement has not been reached, the next step is for the divorce to go to trial.  At the trial the court will decide on whether there is a ground for divorce and if so on the issues relating to the divorce.   If there are children custody, visitation and child support will be decided.  If there are property and or financial issues, those issues will be decided.

      The above description of the divorce process is a simplification.  There can be many more things that go on, depending on your situation.  For example, there can be several visits to the judge concerning discovery or temporary support.  Much will depend upon how difficult your spouse is going to be.  If you decide to have us represent you, we will do everything we can to enforce your rights and make this stressful process as easy as possible.

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