Sephora

CHAPTER 15

The next day, Sephora got woken by Martha who informed her of that the divorce lawyer Bren recommended had called to inform her that he would be there soon.

Quickly she freshened up, checked on her kids before proceeding to the sitting room where she sat and waited, not that she even waited for long because next thing she knew, the man was already at the door.

He seemed like a decent person, he understood the importance of keeping to time and above all, he didn't attempt to chitchat, he knew what he was there for and without further ado dived right into it which made it easy for the meeting to flow.

       "Those are the documents that arrived my home yesterday"
Sephora said to the Lawyer whose name she no longer cared to remember.

     "Walk me through the process of divorce"
Sephora requested, watching as the lawyer gently placed the documents he had and turned to face Sephora, clearing his throat before he spoke:

    "A contested divorce is often a lengthy and costly affair. The process usually begins with a proceeding to modify the arrangements of the minor child or children.

During the first hearing, the court may try to get the spouses to come to an agreement. However, this is not an agreement that would lead to the spouses reconciling and preventing their divorce, as the court has already accepted the fact that the spouses are no longer in harmony.

The object here is to find a common solution concerning the  children. One of the possible solutions is to order mediation, where the parties have the opportunity to clarify the situation in a confidential setting with the help of an independent third party. It is not uncommon for the court to select the mediator itself and oblige both spouses to contact the mediator and arrange a meeting.

If the first hearing is unsuccessful, a second or subsequent hearing will take place. It is necessary to take into account the possibility that, in view of the limited time available to the court and the difficulty of interviewing both parents, everything will not be completed during the second hearing.

The court may appoint an expert in psychology and psychiatry to draw up an expert report, which may take 90 days or more. Reports from the authorities, reports on the parents’ financial circumstances, enquiries to banks, and other measures may be requested. Additionally, the  children may be interviewed in court, which can be emotionally challenging for everyone involved, especially for the.

Even if it is a so-called contested divorce, the parents priority should be to agree at least on the care of the children.

As the court often says, “an agreement is worth its weight in gold”. And once the family has broken up, we believe that minor children carry less burden in the future when parents tell them that they have reached an agreement and behave accordingly, rather than when there are arguments and bickering.

After the expert reports have been prepared, the court will order a further hearing, and the experts may be heard based on the participants’ requests. Only the proceedings regarding the arrangements for the minor children can be prolonged for years.

There, the court usually already has sufficient evidence, so it will invite the parties to make a closing statement. Based on all that has been said and presented, the court will make a final decision."

    " That was quite a lot"
Sephora mumbled, frowning slightly at all the details.

     "What is the procedure for divorce by agreement?"
She asked the lawyer who nodded before he replied.
  
     "An uncontested divorce is a shorter and less demanding option. If all the legal conditions for an uncontested divorce are met and the spouses have an agreement in hand on the division of property, housing and maintenance for the period after the divorce, the divorce process itself can proceed.