When one spouse tells the other that they want a divorce, the proverbial gloves often come off, leading to a bitter and protracted divorce. Divorcing spouses frequently let their negative emotions take control and will argue and fight over minuscule details.
While this approach may give someone an opportunity to vent their negative emotions, it will cause far more stress and damage to the extended family units than a less acrimonious approach to marital dissolution. Spouses to successfully negotiate property division, child custody and support matters on their own can file an uncontested divorce instead of litigating and facing off in court.
There are quite a few benefits that come from an uncontested divorce filing.
You keep control over the outcome
If you and your ex cannot reach your own settlement regarding financial and parenting matters, then a family law judge will apply Utah property division and custody laws.
You effectively hand over control to someone else and could lose property that has great emotional value to you or face very unfavorable and difficult to accommodate custody arrangements. When you settle matters on your own, you get to determine the final outcome.
You keep your costs lower
Divorce requires that you divide your property, which will diminish your personal holdings. However, you can make that loss far worse by battling in court and increasing the costs you incur to end your marriage.
The more time that you spend arguing in a courtroom, the more you will pay to end your marriage. Even if you need to work with the mediator or other professional in addition to your individual attorneys, reaching an uncontested settlement will almost always be more cost-effective than litigating.
Resetting your relationship dynamic
If you have children, divorce won’t be the end of your relationship with the other parent. It will simply instead mark the transition in the kind of relationship that you have with your ex. You will still need to cooperate for the sake of your children and see each other frequently.
Working cooperatively to negotiate your own settlement arrangements will help you relearn how to cooperate and communicate without letting your emotions run the show.
Your decision to make the effort necessary to achieve an uncontested divorce filing will benefit the entire family if you are successful. Learning more about what occurs during a Utah divorce can help you employ the right strategy to minimize the negative consequences while optimizing the outcome.