Usually, by the time you have met with the attorney in our office, you have already tried counseling and working on your marriage. Most parties that meet with us are ready to file. For those people, that have never been divorced there is a lot of fear and stress starting the divorce process. For those who have already been divorced, there is regret about getting divorced again.

We do a lot of divorces and for this reason, are huge supporters of “prenups.”

A Prenuptial Agreement is a legal document that sets out the terms of how you will divide your marital property if you ever divorce. While no one wants to think of this prior to marriage, a good prenuptial agreement can save you substantial money if you ever divorce.

While we can do either for you, both can end up taking longer and costing more than a simple divorce.

We certainly can review with you Tennessee Law in place, to determine if you qualify for either, but most often, divorce may be your only option or your most economical option.

There are 2 types of divorces in Tennessee.

Uncontested:
With uncontested divorces, you will meet with us and advise how you want the divorce settled. You don’t need to pay the additional expense of a mediator.

If you have children, by law you and your spouse must attend a parenting class. THIS IS FOR BOTH CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED CASES. We do not recommend that you attend together.

We will issue Discovery. Discovery will include written questions known as Interrogatories and Request by Production of Documents. Basically, these are  questions I will ask your SPOUSE about his allegations, his witnesses, his income, his debt, his assets. Your spouse has thirty (30) days to answer them.

Our courts require we attend mediation before going to trial. The only time mediation is not required is if there have been allegations of abuse and you do not feel safe in the same room as your spouse during a mediation.

During the pendency of your divorce action, it may be difficult to get your spouse to comply with Court orders.

Often divorcing spouses will continue to fight by phone. They will call each other to yell, and leave ugly messages. If your spouse does this, inform me. Do not talk to your spouse about anything other than your children if it will lead to arguments.

When it comes to property division, it is your job to tell me about all your assets and provide me with copies evidencing ownership of these assets.

The Court will first determine if your property is separate property or marital property. Fault is not a factor in property division.

Alimony is based upon the relative needs and resources of the parties.

The State of Tennessee sets out criteria for establishing alimony in its statutes:

If we get to trial that will mean we have done Discovery, Mediation and Preliminary Hearings and there is no way to settle this matter.

In preparation for the trial, we will review all the major issues of your divorce.

Do not be sarcastic.

Before court review your Discovery responses and all your worksheets and documents.

We charge a non-refundable retainer and bill against that retainer on contested divorces. We charge a flat rate fee on uncontested divorces.

Each case is different. Obviously if you have no children or you have a short term marriage our legal fees will be different from someone who has much
more to handle.

You may return to the court after the divorce for many reasons. Those include child support increases or reductions, change of custody, increases or decreases in alimony, contempt of court for failure to abide by the Final Decree or when one party with custody wants to move away with the child.