If a couple has worked everything out and come to an agreement beforehand, a default divorce may be a way for the spouses to avoid unnecessary costs in time and money.

It is commonly understood that although quickie divorces may be appealing for obvious reasons, they can be risky. Recognition of quickie divorces varies greatly from state to state.

Check with an attorney to determine whether this type of divorce is valid in your state and if it will be appropriate in meeting your future needs. The only benefit to this type of divorce is that it may free you quickly to remarry. However, if you want to get alimony, child support or contest any issues of property settlement, this is not the route to go.

Remember, if your divorce is not considered valid in your state, you could someday run into a problem with bigamy if you remarry.

If, however, the state that is requested to honor the divorce decree determines that neither of the spouses lived in the state where the divorce was granted, it may not have to recognize the divorce decree. (Ex. you and your spouse live in State X. You move to State Y to meet the residency requirements but then move back to State X. State X can refuse to recognize the divorce since you moved to State Y for the sole purpose of obtaining the divorce.)

Remember, if your divorce is not considered valid in your state, you could someday run into a problem with bigamy if you remarry.

What Happens If One Spouse Does Not Consent To A Divorce? If your spouse doesn't want a divorce it's still going to move forward. However, your spouse may contest your claims and force you to prove they are true. What's key is that as long as you can prove a grounds for divorce (that your spouse committed adultery, for instance), your spouse cannot force your to remain married. If you can't prove it's true, then your divorce won't be granted unless you have some additional grounds that you can prove. That is one reason why it may be good to file for divorce on more than one grounds.

If you think that your spouse will file for divorce in another state, it may be prudent to spend the money up front and file first in your home state. Rarely is a divorce settled in one court appearance, and if your spouse files elsewhere you will be travelling to whatever state he has filed. Also, any modifications to the divorce decree, including the property settlement agreement and arrangements for child custody and support, must be filed in the original state. This could keep you traveling out of state for years to come, especially if you have children with your spouse.

If one spouse meets the residency requirement of a state or country, a divorce obtained there is valid, even if the other spouse lives somewhere else. The courts of all states will recognize the divorce. Any decisions the court makes regarding property division, alimony, custody and child support, however, may not be valid unless the non-resident spouse consented to the jurisdiction of the court or later acts as if the foreign divorce was valid -- for example, by paying court-ordered child support.

A case remains "Contested" until each and every item is resolved. If, however, at any time during the pendency of the case, the parties and their attorneys can reach an agreement on all of the issues, they can then stipulate to the court to have the matters heard as an "Uncontested" matter.

When this occurs, the court will accommodate the parties and provide an expedited Hearing in which it will hear proof regarding the grounds and the settlement. If the standards of the court and the law are met, the court will approve the settlement and enter Judgment on that day or shortly thereafter.

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Spouses can ask a court to temporarily:

• Restrain a spouse from coming near or contacting the other spouse
• Restrain a spouse move out of the family home
• Establish child custody
• Establish child visitation arrangements
• Provide for spousal support payments
• Give possession of the family home or car to one of the spouses or
• Order either spouse not to sell valuable assets, run up debt, freeze/close any joint accounts

No matter who moves out of the house, it's best that one of you go to court within 1-2 days to quickly resolve any critical issues. If you're staying with the children, you should immediately file for custody and child support. This accomplishes two things. First, you will be awarded the proper amount of child support and the court will acknowledge that you live with the children, most likely granting physical custody right off the bat. Second, your spouse cannot successfully claim that the children were kidnapped. She or he may raise such a claim, but when you arrive with proof that you filed for custody and child support, the court will most likely dismiss it.

An advantage of mediation is that consensual agreements are more likely to be complied with in the future, and they usually leave the parties feeling more satisfied with the outcomes. It is also usually much cheaper to mediate than to litigate.

However, If you and your spouse have difficulty communicating, or harbor strong feelings of anger and hostility towards each other, or if there are allegations of abuse, or if one of you is extremely resistant to the idea of a divorce, mediation may be doomed from the start.

The complaint should contain:

• an identification of the parties,
• a short and clear statement of the reasons or grounds for the divorce,
• an explanation of why the court has jurisdiction to grant the divorce decree, and
• a request for the judgment the claimant feels he or she is entitled to.

The court will then determine whether it has the power to hear the case. For a court to have power to hear the case, usually one or both of the spouses must live in the same state as the court.

After one spouse files a complaint, a copy of it, along with a summons, is sent to the other spouse. A summons is a written notification that a divorce has been filed and that the spouse is required to appear in court.

In most states the respondent or defendant has 20 to 30 days to file a response with the court in answer to the complaint. In this letter, the responding spouse can raise any defenses to the complaint. If the spouse who initially filed for divorce drops or dismisses the original complaint, the respondent may file a counter-petition that allows the court to continue the divorce proceeding.

• Interrogatories
• Document requests
• Depositions
• Subpoenas

During the discovery process of a divorce proceeding, each spouse can get information about the assets accumulated and debts incurred by the other spouse during the course of the marriage.

Discovery assists each spouse in determining the value of property owned by the other spouse, such as investment properties, stock portfolios or retirement benefits. Through discovery spouses may also get information about assets accumulated before the marriage.

In addition to information regarding financial matters, discovery allows the parties to gather information relating to other areas of the divorce, such as child custody. Interrogatories are written questions that one party to a suit serves upon the other party or a witness. The party served with interrogatories must answer the questions in writing and under oath.

A request for the production of documents lists specific documents that one spouse asks the other to gather and deliver for review. The list may be quite extensive. The documents requested in a divorce proceeding typically include bank statements or other financial statements.

A deposition is the oral testimony of the opposing side or witnesses for the opposing side. The testimony is taken under oath out of court, typically at one of the lawyer's offices. Responses given during the deposition can be used to discredit a witness who changes his or her testimony at trial.

A subpoena is an order to appear and testify in a court hearing or deposition. Subpoenas are used to require a person who is not a party to the case to appear and testify about certain matters pertaining to the case. Evidence that isn't in the possession of the parties to the case may also be subpoenaed from third parties.

In a divorce proceeding a subpoena may help a party get information about a spouse's employment, bank accounts, retirement benefits, insurance coverage and medical records.

Your spouse is usually given time to contest the petition and, consequently, it may take several weeks or even months before the court sets a hearing date. At the hearing the court will determine who gets to stay in the home and who has temporary custody of the children.

The person who initially filed for divorce--the plaintiff--calls witnesses to testify and presents factual evidence in support of his or her case.

After the plaintiff has presented his or her side of the case, the defendant or respondent has the opportunity to call witnesses to testify and present factual evidence in support of his or her side.

Following the defendant's presentation, both parties to the case may call additional witnesses to rebut, or refute, the testimony of any prior witnesses.

After all the evidence has been presented, the attorney for each party gives a closing argument that summarizes the evidence and highlights any points that the he or she believes the opposing side has failed to establish.

The judge normally takes the matter under advisement and will call the parties into court at the time the official ruling is read into the record.

Sometimes the court may appoint a separate attorney to represent any minor children affected by the divorce. This attorney is referred to as the guardian ad litem, attorney for the minor child/children, or CASA (court appointed special attorney), depending on the state in which your trial takes place.

Unless issues of custody and visitation rights are contested, it is generally not necessary for children to be represented at the trial. However, if the court does appoint an attorney to represent any minor children, that attorney may also be present during all court proceedings.

For example, if a spouse contests a custody issue, witnesses may be called to testify about the best interests of the child. An accountant or appraiser may be called to testify about a specific business or property value. If a spouse has outstanding debt, the person to whom the money is owed may testify about that debt.

Generally, the parents must agree or stipulate to an in camera hearing, although some state statutes allow the court to conduct such a hearing without parental permission. Attorneys for both parties may be present but some states permit the judge to interview the child alone.

If the child is represented by a guardian ad litem, attorney for the minor child, or a court appointed special attorney, the attorney will also attend the in camera interview.

However, appellate courts do not generally reverse a trial court's determinations of factual matters. In general, appellate courts only reverse a trial court's decision if the trial judge made a significant error in interpreting the law. If the case is reversed, the appellate judge will send it back to the trial judge with instructions on how to remedy the error.