Razvan
Marian
In the state of Tennessee to dissolve a marriage
without the other parties consent requires that you have grounds
to divorce. Certain states have true no-fault divorces that don’t
require one party to prove grounds. Grounds are a reason recognized
by the state of Tennessee that they will allow you to get a divorce
for. They range from adultery, abandonment, to a catchall inappropriate
marital conduct that can include a variety of behaviors that it
is “inappropriate” for one married person to do to another. Tennessee
code section 36-4-101 sets out the fifteen grounds. Among those
ground is one called “irreconcilable differences”. As a lawyer
who does divorces in Memphis this is what about half your clients
will want when the call you. Some lawyers here advertise they
can do one for $225 plus court costs in the Memphis Commercial
Appeal! The problem is this really isn’t a ground for divorce
under Tennessee law. You see in Tennessee to get a divorce for
irreconcilable difference you must have a signed and notarized
Marital Dissolution Agreement that sets forth how all the property
will be divided and who gets what. If you have children then you
also need a completed parenting plan where you agree on all details,
a child support worksheet based on that plan, and to take a parenting
class. All of the above will need to be signed notarized and approved
by your ex-spouse. You cannot force your ex-spouse to sign the
above. There is no legal penalty for failing to do so. There is
also no way to default on these grounds. So if your spouse has
taken off for the last two years with her lesbian lover to Nepal
then you can’t get an irreconcilable differences divorce. Now
if all the above is done then you can get divorced in 60 days
from filing without children or 90 days with. Now if you come
to me and pay me to do the paperwork for an irreconcilable difference
divorce and your spouse isn’t prepared for having the papers presented
to them numerous things can and frequently do happen. 1.Your spouse
may sue you for divorce. 2.Your spouse may remove all the money
from any joint checking accounts, tell her relatives you are threatening
him/her, and get an order of protection against you. 3.Take the
kids and move to Florida. All of which because an irreconcilable
differences divorce has no mutual mandatory injunction are very
hard to combat. They also cause your lawyer to instead of doing
a little cutting and pasting, counseling you for a half hour,
answering a few questions, filing, and one short flexible court
appearance to spending hours upon hours in multiple court appearances,
frantic calls from you, and filing numerous documents to get you
back in your house or the kids back from Florida. Your lawyer
is also going to want a lot more money than $225. Frequently lawyers
advertise irreconcilable differences divorces for low amounts
and then refuse to perform any work unless you pay them say an
additional $2000 retainers which will only cover the most moderately
contested divorce. Most lawyers can crank out an irreconcilable
difference divorce in about two hours of work. A lightly contested
divorce can consume twenty hours of time in mediation and initial
court appearances. That’s at one hundred and fifty or so dollars
an hour. Going to trial can take hundreds of hours. So what happens
if you get a lawyer to begin work on an irreconcilable differences
basis when you shouldn’t have? Well, you’re not going to have
a lawyer for very long. They probably state in their contract
they will perform no additional work and might not even have filed
yet. In addition, they will be really ticked at you for underplaying
the situation and will probably not be prepared to deal with whatever
you spouse throws at you. There are several morals to this. One,
be prepared to be generous. Its going to cost you several thousand
dollars to tens of thousands to seriously contest any issues using
a Memphis lawyer. Second, be honest with your lawyer if you want
your spouse out of the house or its going to take some serious
effort to come to an agreement with your spouse. Third, remember
you can’t get an irreconcilable difference divorce in Tennessee
without agreeing with your spouse on all material issues. I strongly
urge you to contact a Memphis Lawyer to discuss a divorce before
you even broach the subject with your spouse. Then try therapy
knowing what your legal right, process, and cost will be.
Memphis lawyer David Sandy is a Tennessee licensed attorney at
law and his website is www.mymemphislawyer.com. His blog is www.mymemphislawyer.blogspot.com
where he posts legal tips and restaurant reviews.
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