Craig W. Polanzi Attorney at Law

Information About Divorce

Who Can File For Divorce?

Either spouse may initiate the divorce. However, the Plaintiff spouse needs to state one of the 3 reasons for divorce:

• The marriage is irretrievably broken

• The parties have lived separate and apart for a continuous period of 2 or more years under a decree of separation or under a decree of separate maintenance.

• The parties have lived separate and apart for a continuous period of 2 or more years immediately preceding the application, there is no reasonable likelihood that the cohabitation will be resumed, and it would not be harsh and oppressive to Defendant, or contrary to public interest, to grant a divorce on this ground on the complaint of the plaintiff

What is the difference between un-contested and contested?

In uncontested cases, the husband and wife agree to the term of the divorce. Any potential issues such as child custody, spousal support, and division of assets and debts are already settled between the parties. There are no court hearings and the process is a rather simple one.

Contested cases are just the opposite. The parties cannot agree on one or more of the issues. It is substantially more time consuming. More documents are going to be needed and court appearances are not uncommon.