In a contested divorce, a spouse is an adversary. If a divorce is uncontested, none of the issues -- such as custody, child support or alimony -- are litigated. A spouse may start off as an adversary and upon reaching an agreement and signing a settlement agreement, the agreement dissolves the adversarial relationship.

In some jurisdictions and divorce actions, the parties in a divorce are called the appellant and respondent, not the plaintiff and defendant.

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1. Hand Grenades and Hatchets
   One veteran Pennsylvania divorce lawyer likens an adversarial divorce to war with "hand grenades and hatchets." These are two weapons likely to injure the person who uses them and innocent bystanders -- for example, children. Hard as it may seem, divorce does not have to end in warfare.
   Contributed on 4/4/2007 by: DivorceDex.com Staff
2. Full Circle of Negotiation
   In the early stages of a separation, many spouses come to an agreement on the major issues of their divorce only to find that as time passes their changing desires lead to an adversarial divorce. As the negotiating resumes, lawyers get involved, and the issues become contested, the spouses find themselves 10 minutes before trial reaching an agreement almost identical to the one originally hashed out in the early stages. The downside is a lot of legal fees and emotional trauma.
   Contributed on 4/4/2007 by: DivorceDex.com Staff

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