You cannot legally finalize your divorce until you have fully settled all the outstanding issues between you and your spouse including the division of assets and debts, spousal and child support and the custody of your children. If the two of you are unable to resolve these matters out of court with the help of your divorce attorneys, you will have a divorce that is contested and the judge will be called upon to make decisions and rule for you. In a NYC contested divorce, it is vital that you have competent and experienced contested divorce lawyers NYC & family attorneys on your side that know how to handle a complicated divorce case from inception through trial in court.

If one of the spouses has much less income than the other, the court may direct the spouse with the higher income to pay the legal fees for contested divorce lawyers and expert expenses of the spouse with less income. In order to get divorced in New York, the parties must reach a resolution of all of their marital affairs. These include division of marital assets, custody, visitation and support for minor children, spousal support. When there is no agreement the divorce is considered contested. The court must step in and make decision on any of the unresolved matters so the divorce can be concluded. Of course, having experienced contested divorce lawyers NYC will greatly help increase your chances of having a positive outcome.

Since New York now has no-fault divorce, if a party wants a divorce, he or she will get a divorce regardless of the other side’s wishes. Without consent to get divorce on both sides, it would be considered a NYC contested divorce. The court will make decisions on the terms but in the end, a divorce will be granted. There are many complicated issues to address in court so you should consider NYC contest divorce with ample trial and court experience to assist you.

A divorce action is started in court by a party called the “Plaintiff” with filing of the summons and complaint. Summons and complaint is the served on the other party called “Defendant” by a process server. The defendant has 20 days to formally answer if served within New York. If served outside of New York, the defendant has 30 days to respond. If the defendant does not respond within the applicable period, the plaintiff can ask for a default divorce from the court. The parties will complete and exchange financial net worth statements. The financial net worth statement is a disclosure of each parties financials such as income, liabilities, assets and pension plans. The court will often issue a temporary order on all emergency and interim issues such as child custody, child support, temporary maintenance and attorneys fees to be paid by the side with better financial resources. A preliminary conferences then scheduled before a judge to address the unresolved issues. At the preliminary conference, the the sides will discuss with the judge the issues of the divorce, such as equitable distribution, spousal support, custody, child support or visitation.

After the preliminary conference, the parties will engage in the process called discovery during which the sides will exchange all of the information relevant to each parties position such as documents and financial statements. The parties may also elect to hold oral depositions of each other and of third parties if they feel that relevant information can be ascertained to support their case.

If any issues in a NYC contested divorce remain unsettled, the court will schedule a trial before the judge where each side will present their evidence in support of their position. The judge will rule on the contested issues and divorce will be concluded. A final judgements of divorce can then be obtained. It is highly recommended that you retain contested divorce lawyers NYC with court experience to assist you.