If you and your spouse can agree on all important issues, you should consider having an uncontested divorce.

Unlike a contested divorce, you do not have to involve the court from the onset. You can have a mutual agreement on how to proceed with everything, from child custody to property division. All you will need from the court is to approve the agreement you have come up with.

Why should you consider an uncontested divorce?

An uncontested divorce is cheaper since it does not involve substantial legal fees. You are likely to conclude the divorce process faster since there are no contests pitting you against each other.

Co-parenting can be a headache, especially if you are not on good terms with your former spouse. While both parents should put their differences aside and focus on bringing up the children, it is not always the case. You may find yourself in a situation where your co-parent prevents you from seeing the children or disregarding other terms of the custody order.

If your co-parent is not following court-issued custody orders, you need to protect your parental rights and the children's well-being. You may have to seek the court's intervention in correcting the situation.

The court can enforce or modify the existing custody orders

Violating court orders is an offense, and your co-parent may be penalized for that. They could be held in contempt of court, while repeated violations can attract fines or even time in jail.

LGBTQ marriages were legalized throughout all 50 states by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. Since then, gay and lesbian couples have been entitled to marriage equality with their heterosexual peers.

With marriage equality, of course, comes divorce equality. However, there's been an interesting trend that seems to be pretty much the same no matter where you happen to live in the world: Female couples are much more likely to divorce than male couples.

Lesbian marriages aren't inherently unstable

The desire for marriage equality may have eclipsed the reality that marriage simply isn't for everyone. Some lesbian women who married shortly after the Obergefell v. Hodges decision ended up divorced when they realized that their desire to marry stemmed from the fact that they wanted the recognition of their right to do so more than they really wanted to be married.

No aspect of divorce is easy. The realization that your relationship is no longer functioning can be difficult to digest. If you have children, then you will worry how their future is going to pan out with parents in separate households.

All of these apprehensions can make it challenging to tell your children about the divorce, but they need to know and there is no way to hide it from them. Thankfully, with the right approach, you and your spouse can soften the blow.

Explain that you are still both there for them

Confusion is likely to arise after you explain that one parent is moving out of the family home. Your child might feel that they have to choose one parent over the other, but you and your spouse can still be on the same page after divorce. Just because you are not united in terms of a relationship doesn't mean you can't be united in terms of parenthood. If your child knows that you are still prepared to tackle obstacles together, this will be a great source of comfort.

At NextLevel Law we believe in justice in and out of the office. Please join us in congratulating our Founder and Principal Attorney, Daniel R. Hernandez, on his appointment as Commissioner on the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.