Contested Divorce Lawyers & Divorce Attorneys
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Contested Divorce Attorneys
If you need a divorce, but you and your spouse cannot come to an agreement, then you need to hire an experienced Alabama divorce lawyer to file your contested divorce. A contested divorce is simply any divorce that is filed without an agreement already being reached between you and your spouse.
Filing a contested divorce is a way to work through the process in an orderly manner that is supervised by the court system. The court will not allow your spouse to harass you or hide from the process and getting it filed can sometimes result in an agreement being reached by the parties at some point.
A contested divorce begins with the filing of a Complaint for Divorce. This document is filed with the appropriate court, initiating the divorce action. At this point, your divorce will be assigned a case number and a judge. The Complaint usually alleges who is at fault in the divorce, what you are wanting to be awarded in the litigation, and makes certain other requests of the Court.
For example, the filing spouse might want to request certain protections from the other party from abuse or protection of the accounts. Either one may involve separate pleadings but can also be in your Complaint for divorce. After this document is filed with the court, it will be delivered to your spouse via certified mail or process server.
Once the Complaint is filed by your contested divorce attorney, your spouse will usually get their own family law attorney. Then they will file an Answer to your Complaint. In their Answer, they will deny everything you stated in the Complaint and make their own allegations and requests to the Court. At this point, both attorneys can reach out to try to settle the matter or your case enters the Discovery phase in order to prepare for an eventual trial.
Discovery is a legal means of gathering information from your spouse to be used at trial. The information needed varies greatly depending on the specifics of your case. Normally, your attorney will be seeking information on assets, debts, infidelity, and any other information relevant to what you are requesting in the divorce.
After all relevant information has been obtained, our Birmingham divorce lawyers work on getting a resolution to your case or prepare to fight for you at trial. The most amiable way to resolve it is of course by reaching a settlement agreement with your spouse. Our divorce lawyer keep you fully informed about every aspect of your case and what you can expect, and we never make decisions about the settlement of your case without your consent and approval.
Experienced Divorce Lawyers in Alabama
Due to the unpredictability of contested divorces, it is generally not possible to do these on a flat fee basis. A retainer will be charged, and the contested divorce attorney will bill out of that retainer at an hourly rate. Depending on how much work is done on your case at that hourly rate, the legal expenses can get quite expensive. There is something called an uncontested divorce which you can do if you are both in complete agreement on all marital issues and signing an agreement prior to anything being filed. However, once the contested divorce is filed then there are generally no flat fee services involved from that point forward.
We have local divorce attorneys in most parts of the State of Alabama that can fight for you in your divorce litigation. If you need a divorce lawyer in Anniston, Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, Gardendale, Cullman, Jasper, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Trussville, Pelham, Helena, Alabaster, Bessemer, Chelsea, Clanton, Calera, Prattville, Montgomery, Selma, Anniston, Talladega, Moody, Leeds, Pell City, or anywhere else in Central or Northern Alabama then we can meet in any of our nearby offices.
We have offices in Madison County, Morgan County, Calhoun County, Autauga County, Montgomery County, Jefferson County, and Shelby County. Call today to set up an appointment or for an in person or phone consultation with our Alabama contested divorce attorney.
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Divorce FAQs
It depends on which type of divorce you are doing. If you are pursuing an uncontested divorce (where you and your spouse have reached an agreement concerning all marital issues) then you can fill out our questionnaire... Read more
For a contested divorce, you will need to call and speak with one of our attorneys for a quote. However, we usually work with you to structure a low, flat fee instead of expensive retainers that are billed out of at an expensive hourly rate... Read more
As long as you or hour spouse is a resident of Alabama, then you can file here. To be a resident, you have to have resided in the State for at least six months prior to filing a case. If you both are residents of Alabama, then... Read more
An uncontested divorce is where both you and your spouse have reached an agreement about all of your marital issues such as custody, child support, division of property, and all other issues. If you have reached such an agreement... Read more
An uncontested divorce usually takes about one or two months after everything has been signed by both spouses and filed with the court. A contested divorce can take anywhere from 30 days to months or years, depending on... Read more