New York Contested Divorce Lawyer
The Difference Between Contested & Uncontested Divorce
Many couples going through a divorce in New York will turn to the courts to help them sort out all aspects of their separation—from dividing debts and distributing property to determining child custody and support payments. If a couple cannot come to an agreement on some of these issues without intervention from the court, they will enter into what is called a “contested divorce.”
This term can mean several different things. First, it can be used to describe a divorce where one party argues that the other doesn’t have grounds for divorce, thus trying to prevent it. In this case, the divorce itself would be contested. More commonly, however, it is used to describe a divorce where both parties have agreed to a divorce, but cannot agree on issues such as child custody or property division.
Temporary Orders in Contested Divorce
In some cases, a divorce attorney will ask the judge to make temporary orders. This can help direct the payment of bills, mortgage payments, child support, spousal support and lawyers’ fees early in the case so that if one spouse stops paying the bills or providing the other with spending money, the court can order support. This will provide temporary relief that may remain in effect until the divorce is finalized.
In New York, a typical contested divorce will take several months, or longer, to complete. As you may have already discovered, life doesn’t stand still during this time. By establishing temporary orders, a non-monied spouse can pay some bills while the case is pending. These orders will generally stay in effect until the final divorce decree is entered or an agreement is reached by the divorcing parties.
During the Pending Divorce
While a divorce is pending, each spouse’s lawyer can request discovery from the other spouse—which may include information and documents almost anything related to the financial or custody issues involved in the divorce.
Some of the information your attorney might request includes:
- Deeds or titles to property
- Bank statements, checks and deposit records
- Credit card bills and other spending records
- Proposed witness lists
- Business account records
The Trial
If your case cannot be settled, there will be a trial, during which the judge will hear evidence from both sides on all issues that have been raised. This could include witness testimony, testimony from either spouse, financial records, police or medical reports, or any other form of admissible evidence—all of which will help the court decide the facts and establish division of assets and debts and the best interests of the children.
Once the trial has been concluded, the judge may enter a ruling from the bench or take the matter under advisement and render a decision at a later time. In some jurisdictions, if the divorce has been pending for an extended period of time without any foreseeable resolution, the judge may schedule a status conference to see if a settlement would be possible before taking the case to trial.
For more information about contested divorce, call us at Lois M. Brenner, Esq.: (646) 663-4546.
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"Like at First Sight!" We consulted Lois on the best, most cost-effective way to get divorced. First, she extended a free in-office consultation to us. It was supposed to be one hour; it was an hour and a half. She was gracious, didn’t rush us, explained thoroughly all the ins and outs of going to court, and answered thoroughly lots of our questions. She also shared lots of great information on divorce mediation, which we really knew nothing about, and now we have decided mediation will be the best route for us. We knew in the first 10 minutes that we really liked and trusted her. We are starting our mediation process with her next week. We are really looking forward to working with her. We feel strongly she is the best person for us.- Jen
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Lois is a “Rock Star” I was very worried about my daughter who was in a really bad marriage. I started researching divorce attorneys and found Lois Brenner. I called her, discussed my daughter’s horrible marriage and she agreed to meet with us. Since my daughter’s husband wanted out of the marriage too (he was cheating), Lois suggested she help them dissolve their marriage in mediation. To my surprise it worked out. Lois was able to keep my daughter and husband from fighting during their sessions, and she helped them resolve all their financial issues. Since I was paying the fees to help my daughter, not having to go to court saved us a great deal of money. As a father, I am truly grateful for everything Lois did. Her talks with me in the beginning of the process, to calm me down, really helped. I would highly recommend her to anyone thinking of divorce.- Graham (happy dad)
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I have hired Mrs. Brenner and had the best experience with her in my complicated and intense divorce. She was there for me all the way, always answering promptly any questions I had. She gave me the best advice, in such a caring and kind way. She has an amazing team of specialists, that will cover any needs you might have. I highly recommend Mrs. Brenner, you can feel she’s got your back!- JN
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Amazing, Skillful Mediator!!!! We went to see Lois Brenner for a mediation consultation. We had pretty much decided our marriage was over. We just wanted to end things fair and amicably. Lois Brenner spent so much time with us, and gave us great insight as to how the process would help us, we hired her on the spot. Our sessions thereafter were stealth. She organized us, helped us identify and address all the issues. She showed us how to communicate effectively throughout the process. We were able to address all our issues, especially property and finances, arrive at a comfortable settlement agreement, and now we are waiting for the judge to sign our divorce. What an extraordinary process. I highly recommend Lois Brenner and mediation. She’s super, and mediation really works.- Maggie and Josh
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“No words can express what you have done for our family!”- Ken
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“We saved thousands of dollars!”- Gloria
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Going through with our divorce was very difficult time for me and my ex husband. Finding the right lawyer was very confusing, frustrating and time consuming. I was very lucky to find Lois. She is professional and human at the same time. In a few sessions she answered all of our questions, gave us great advice and filled and filed all paperwork for us. Our divorce was finalized very quickly and thanks to Lois it was very smooth process. If my best friend would need a divorce lawyer I would recommend Lois without any reservations.!!! Christina C.- Christine C.
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Lois acted as the mediator in my divorce, and she was absolutely excellent. It was a very difficult time for me personally, but Lois made the process as easy and painless as it could possibly have been. She listened to each of us separately, and made thoughtful and helpful suggestions. She is fair, and seemed to genuinely care about finding a solution that was best for both parties. Lois is perfectly qualified to handle this type of situation, given her background in psychology. She truly understands people, and used this ability to keep my ex-husband and I calm, and smoothly navigate a few tricky situations. I felt very understood by Lois, and think that she not just a top-quality attorney, but also a very decent person. She is responsive, and answered my emails within a couple of minutes every time. Highly rated!
