What Is An “Agreed” or “Uncontested” Divorce?

It Doesn’t Have to Be a Battle

While some divorces result in lengthy and sometimes ugly court battles, many divorces are actually quite civil and even mutually sought. These are often referred to as “agreed” or “uncontested” divorces, meaning that both sides have come to terms and just need a court to sign off, approving the agreement and granting the dissolution.

In addition, an uncontested divorce can also refer to cases where one of the spouses does not raise any objections. This can mean that the spouse agrees with the terms as mentioned above but it can also include cases where the spouse simply does not respond to the subpoena either because they can no longer be found (see “Missing Spouse Divorce” for more) or just because they have no interest in fighting the divorce. In the last example, the uncontested divorce would likely result in a default judgment for the petitioner.

Many uncontested and agreed divorces are relatively simple and don’t involve complex property settlements. For this reason, they can often be filed without hiring an attorney by using one of the many do-it-yourself divorce forms.