Contested vs. Uncontested Court Case

A contested legal matter means you and the opposing party in your case do not agree on everything. Contested matters often go to trial or are heavily litigated.

The most common family law issues that will go to trial are spousal maintenance and legal decision-making authority. As well as large financial disputes and other grey areas, like comingling of separate and joint property.

On the other hand, if the parties agree, then it would be an uncontested matter. It is easier to navigate an uncontested matter vs a contested matter. Uncontested is much cheaper. Our firm offers flat fees – this is one set fee to resolve your entire case.

As you can imagine, this saves you time and money. Uncontested cases are less stressful. The parties enter into an agreement early on. There is no conflict, no litigation, no court hearings, and no piling up of expenses. It is also better for all involved. This is especially true for children.

The more litigation and disagreements between parents, the more likely the child or children will be affected. The children will be on a schedule sooner. Their financial interests will be protected quicker and each parent should have closure sooner.

Even when children aren’t involved, most parties will experience a better quality of life faster, as they can focus on healing and not litigation.

There can be a hybrid of this, where there is a partial agreement, and some issues go to trial. If you have to go to trial, do your best to reduce the issues. One of the largest reasons to reduce issues is time.

If you are in the busy family court, time is limited. A case may have 10 issues that are heard in a few hours, and the more issues, the more time you need. If you need a larger amount of time for trial, your trial will be set out further in the court’s calendar. Some judges can fit a 1-hour trial into their calendar in a month or so. If it is all day or days, potentially scheduling could be out several months.