Cumming No-Fault Divorce Lawyer
If you have decided to file for divorce, you must decide on a ground—a legally justifiable reason for ending your marriage. This decision can have a big impact on how the divorce affects you and your family.
Speak with a Cumming no-fault divorce lawyer before you make any final decisions. An experienced family attorney can explore your options so you can make an informed choice.
What No-Fault Divorce Means
The term “no-fault divorce” is used a lot, but many people misunderstand its meaning. A no-fault divorce means that the spouses have chosen to pursue divorce based on the grounds that their marriage is irretrievably broken.
The Official Code of Georgia §19-5-3 offers 13 potential grounds a spouse could assert as their legal reason for wanting a divorce. Twelve of them require a spouse to provide evidence for. Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage is called a no-fault ground because neither spouse has to prove anything—their word that the marriage does not work provides legal justification for the divorce.
Most couples select the no-fault ground as their reason for divorce even when there is ample evidence of their spouse’s misconduct. No-fault divorces in Cumming usually require less work from attorneys, so you can obtain your divorce more quickly and less expensively.
No-Fault Allows an Uncontested Divorce
Sometimes a divorce is relatively simple. A couple may not have children and do not own a home or other substantial property. They may agree to split their assets and file for an uncontested divorce.
Even couples with children and significant marital property can get an uncontested divorce although it is less common under these circumstances. The couple could work directly with each other, through their Cumming no-fault divorce attorneys, or with a mediator to decide:
- How to divide their marital property;
- Whether one spouse will receive alimony and if so, how much and for how long;
- Where the children will live most of the time;
- How much time the non-residential parent will have with the children;
- Which parent will have decision-making authority;
- How much child support the non-residential parent will pay.
When spouses can agree on all these issues they can file their agreements with their divorce petition and could have their final divorce decree in just a few weeks.
An uncontested divorce requires the couple to choose no-fault grounds as the basis for their divorce. If one or both spouses cite a fault-based ground, the couple has a litigated or contested divorce.
A Divorce Can Be Contested Without Proving Fault
Many couples are unable to agree on all the pertinent matters before one of them files for divorce. Couples in this position have a contested divorce. A couple can be in disagreement about one or more relevant issues and still have a no-fault divorce.
When a Cumming couple seeks a contested divorce based on no-fault grounds, their family law attorneys usually begin negotiations as soon as one spouse files the divorce petition. In most cases, the parties eventually reach agreement and there is no need to go to a trial.
If they cannot reach an agreement before a trial, a judge will decide the issues still in dispute. However, in a no-fault divorce, the parties do not allege either spouse committed misconduct, so the judge does not have to decide who is to blame for the divorce.
Work With a Cumming Attorney to Obtain a No-Fault Divorce
There are sometimes advantages to pursuing a fault-based divorce. However, for most couples, a no-fault divorce is a strategy that saves time, energy, and money in the long run.
Our team of Cumming no-fault divorce lawyers can advocate strongly for your desired outcome in a divorce without asserting fault-based grounds. In most cases, this produces a better result for all members of the family. Get started today.
