Your Steady Legal Guide In A Contested Divorce
At the Kelly Law Office in Columbus, we provide professional, caring representation in contested divorces. Joseph Kelly has been handling contested divorces since 1992. He knows how to persuasively present your case before a judge and seek a favorable outcome no matter what challenges are involved.
Your matter may require strong litigation at times or deft negotiation at others. With our lawyer, you will feel confident knowing that you are represented by a seasoned trial attorney and counselor at law who will protect you, guide you and fight for you throughout the process. If you have issues in your divorce that cannot be resolved amicably, you need an experienced divorce attorney on your side.
What Happens In A Contested Divorce In Ohio?
A contested divorce arises when you and your spouse cannot agree on any one or more of the various issues involved with the ending of your marital relationship. This includes anything related to property division, child custody and support. A contested divorce begins when one spouse files a complaint in court and serves it upon the other spouse.
In a contested divorce:
- The court may issue temporary orders regarding custody, support, attorney fees, payments of debt, credit card use and living expenses, among other things. These stay in place until you have completed a full trial on those issues.
- The court may issue restraining orders to protect against vindictive or destructive behavior while the divorce is pending. Destructive behaviors could include canceling insurance policies, removing household furniture, withdrawing retirement funds, spending savings or accumulating debt in the other spouse’s name.
- Your attorney will be able to collect documents and force your spouse to disclose information regarding your assets and debts. Available tools include subpoenas, demands for discovery, document requests and interrogatories.
- Your attorney may use experts to prove the value of certain assets. These could include a forensic accountant to determine a spouse’s marital interest in a business or a guardian ad litem to represent the best interests of the child when parental rights are at issue. The guardian ad litem has certain statutory duties such as conducting a home investigation and filing a written recommendation to the court based on his or her findings.
- You may convert the contested divorce to an uncontested divorce at any point by reaching a settlement with your spouse. You must present this agreement in writing to the court for approval.
- A judge will conduct a trial and consider all statutory factors when making decisions about contested issues if you cannot reach an agreement at any point in the process. You can rely on us to explain these factors to you and show you how they will affect your case.
Our Fees Are Always Reasonable: Why Do We Charge Hourly In A Contested Divorce?
We know that costs can be a concern for some clients, so we want you to know exactly what our rates would be if you hired us to take your case. If you are involved in a contested divorce, this means that there are many issues that need to be addressed, making it very challenging for us to know upfront the amount of work that will be necessary.
Because of this, we handle contested divorces on an hourly basis. When you cannot agree, there is no way to accurately predict the reasonableness or unreasonableness of your spouse. Therefore, there is no way to know whether the case will be able to be settled quickly, or will require a trial and decision by a judge to resolve the contested issues.
Our goal is to work with you to achieve your desired outcome in a cost-effective manner.
Let Us Help You. Schedule Your Free Initial Telephone Consultation.
Are you ready to discuss your case with an experienced divorce lawyer? Call us at 614-241-2174 or send us an email.