An uncontested divorce with child custody is the easiest option emotionally and financially.
You’ll hear different terms when you start the divorce process, and they can be confusing. An uncontested divorce means that you and your spouse have worked out all of the details.
You agree on child custody and visitation. You know how you’ll divide up your assets and debts. You agree to all the details of how you’ll separate your lives.
This type of divorce saves you time and usually money. It also rarely requires you to hire an attorney and in most cases, you will only need to goto court once for finalizing your divorce.
But achieving a successful uncontested divorce can be challenging. You have to agree on all the details with the very person you’re leaving.
Here are seven tips to make the uncontested divorce process easier.
1. Make Sure It’s the Right Choice
You know your spouse and yourself better than anyone. Can the two of you work through some tough decisions?
If everything ends in an argument, you may struggle to make decisions in an uncontested divorce. This option is best when both of you agree to the divorce and can negotiate an agreement.
Go into the process willing to work with your spouse. Know that you may need to negotiate, which means you may need to give up some of the things you wanted going into it.
2. Look at it Like a Business Transaction
This is your personal life, so it’s tough to keep the emotions out of it. Settling the terms of your divorce is easier when you think of it as a business transaction. Keep your emotions out of the process as much as possible.
You also want to go into the decisions with research. Don’t take your spouse’s word when it comes to things such as assets and debts.
Look up the accounts yourself to see where you stand. Make sure your partner discloses everything so you get a fair chance at getting what you have a right to have.
Without proper research, you might agree to take on debt you didn’t know about, or you might miss out on assets that you’re entitled to share.
3. Get the Right Forms
Getting the correct forms for an uncontested divorce with children is important. With those forms, you can handle your uncontested divorce in Oklahoma without a lawyer.
You’ll need to fill in the paperwork completely and accurately to avoid any delays or issues with your divorce. We can help you with the paperwork to ensure everything is done correctly.
4. Never Use Your Kids
Divorce is always more complicated with kids. Even if you both want the divorce, you both want your fair share of the marital assets.
Remember that your kids didn’t have any say in this divorce. It’s an emotionally difficult time for them.
Never use them to get your way when you’re sorting out the details. The goal of an uncontested divorce is to make the split easier and more peaceful. If you’re using your kids as pawns to get what you want, you take that peace and ease away from everyone, especially your kids.
When making decisions, keep your kids’ best interests as your priority.
Will demanding a larger portion of custody time benefit your kids or hurt their relationship with their other parent?
How will it affect your kids if you refuse to agree to a reasonable amount of child support just to save yourself money?
Your past issues with your spouse are between the two of you. Getting revenge on your soon-to-be-former partner at the expense of your kids is never worth it.
5. Decide What Needs to be Decided
Before you start making decisions, figure out what decisions you’ll need to make. You’ll need to figure out all the details before your divorce can go through uncontested.
With kids, you’ll need to decide on custody arrangements and child support. Every state sets guidelines for child support. Using an Oklahoma child support calculator helps you figure out those amounts.
You’ll also need to separate your financials, including assets and debts.
That list might include:
- House
- Cars
- Furniture
- Other physical property
- Savings
- Cash
- Investments
- Other monetary assets
- All debts
In an uncontested divorce, you can decide how to separate those things.
If you can’t agree, the courts will decide how to divide things. Oklahoma is an equitable distribution state. That means the court uses several factors to divide the assets fairly.
6. Start With the Easy Things
You may not agree on every aspect of the divorce. It’s natural to disagree, especially considering there are already issues in the marriage leading to the divorce. Both parties want to get a good deal out of the divorce.
Start with the easiest decisions where you know you’ll agree or where you’ve already discussed how you’ll handle them. Maybe you already know you’re going to split custody 50/50. Or you know you’re keeping the house and your spouse is moving.
By starting with those easier decisions, you can get some of the details out of the way. You kick off the negotiations on a positive note. Then you can work into the more difficult decisions.
7. Use Mediation If Necessary
Even in an uncontested divorce, you may need some help deciding the details. A professional mediator can help you work through the parts that you can’t agree on.
Early mediation is the key to avoiding major fighting. Maybe you have the easy things decided, but you can’t agree on other things.
If you can’t figure it out on your own, you may end up with a contested divorce on your hands. That can draw out the entire divorce and increase the cost.
A mediator may be able to help you sort out those issues left undecided, so you can still have your uncontested divorce.
Uncontested Divorce With Child Custody
Working through an uncontested divorce with child custody can be a challenge, but it’s often worth it to save yourself time and money. You and your former spouse can move on faster without the stressful fights for what you want.
Contact us if you have any questions about the uncontested divorce process in Oklahoma.