Home > Research Legal Advice > Divorce / Separation > Can I change from an uncontested to contested divorce?
Get private, personalized proposals from top-rated lawyers ready to help you.
Asked over 1 year ago - Boulder, CO
FlagMy wife refuses to sign the settlement agreement that I signed almost a year ago.
Yes, you can withdraw your agreement to the settlement agreement and ask to have your case set for a contested hearing. It is only non contested if you are both in agreement. A contested hearing means a trial to the court. If there are issues to decide that are important to you, you may want to have counsel represent you at hearing.
It is not really a matter of changing from an non-contested divorce to a contested divorce. All divorce cases are considered "contested divorces" unless and until both sides have signed a Separation Agreement which resolves each and every issue which must be addressed. Since your wife has refused to sign the Separation Agreement, you should put her on notice, preferably in writing, that you are withdrawing your agreement the the Separation Agreement. If you already have a non-contested hearing date, you need to ask the court to cancel that date and give you a date for a contested Permanent Orders hearing.
Beware of one possible pitfall -- if you case has been ont eh court's docket (list of active cases) for the last year and no one has submitted a separation agreement bringing things to an end, the case may have been dismissed. This is a rairy of counsel is involved, but for folks who don;t have attorneys, it happens with inactivity. You may want to check with the courthouse to see if your case is still alive. If not, you may need to re-file. There is also a chance you can re-kindle the old case, but to do that, you ought to consider sitting down with an experienced family law attorney in Colroado and discussing your options.
All my best.
Don't speak legalese? We define thousands of terms in plain English.
Browse our legal dictionary