When Uncontested Becomes Contested

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In his article “When Good Intentions Go Bad” in Psychology Today, John R. "Jack" Schafer, Ph.D. talks about the ways in which good communications can turn ugly. People think things are going to go one way and then they don’t.

Good communicators not only wordsmith but they also incorporate psychological components into their communications.

He goes on to talk about the push pull qualities of certain statements, the us-against-them paradigm, cognitive dissonance and ego. Often, intentions get gnarled because of these complicated psychological processes that are necessary for good communication.

One of the things that many divorcing couples lack is good communication skills. What are the chances that poor communication between you and your spouse will cause an uncontested divorce to morph into a contested divorce? You can greatly reduce that chance by hiring an attorney to focus on your best interests.

For a divorce to be uncontested, both parties must agree on child custody and visitation, child support, tax deductions and exemptions, division of the marital assets/debts and alimony, among other things. If there is any official disagreement on these, then your divorce is considered contested. According to this article, divorce can be a 7 year event, with the year prior to divorce full of anxiety, plus up to 5 years after for the ensuing emotional healing involved.

This is why it is best to have an attorney on your side, just in case intentions go awry.

If you and your spouse agree on an uncontested divorce, that’s a great first step. Hiring an attorney to help you through the process and focus on your interests is the next step to ensuring your intentions go as planned.

Beau R. Layfield is an accomplished Baton Rouge divorce lawyer. For a free case evaluation at Layfield Law Firm with regards to your uncontested divorce or any other issues relating to family law, please contact us.

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