Uncontested Divorce in Massachusetts

An uncontested divorce is one path through a Massachusetts divorce, often called a 1A divorce. It is designed for spouses who have reached agreement on the issues the court would otherwise need to decide, including custody, support, alimony, and property division. You file together as joint petitioners instead of one spouse filing a complaint against the other. Massachusetts law allows this path under General Laws Chapter 208, Section 1A^[1], and because there is no dispute to resolve, no summons and no answer are required.

The trade-off for that simpler process is that your written separation agreement must cover everything the court would otherwise decide for you. A rushed or incomplete agreement can get rejected by the court or leave gaps that cause problems later.

What Makes a Massachusetts Divorce Uncontested

The difference between uncontested and contested divorce comes down to agreement, not how amicable the split feels. An uncontested divorce requires the spouses to reach a complete agreement on every issue the court would otherwise decide, including custody, support, alimony, and property division, with a notarized separation agreement filed as part of the Section 1A process.

If you agree on most issues but not all, your case is not eligible to proceed as a 1A joint petition. Many couples start down the contested track and reach a full agreement later, at which point the case can shift to the uncontested procedure.

Filing the Joint Petition

A 1A filing has three required parts: a petition signed by both spouses or their attorneys, an affidavit stating the marriage has irretrievably broken down, and a notarized separation agreement. If the agreement is not ready when you file, Section 1A gives you 90 days from filing to submit it.

Because both spouses are petitioning together, there is no defendant to serve and no 20-day answer period. That is the main procedural difference from a contested filing.

What Your Separation Agreement Must Cover

The court reviews your agreement using the same property factors that apply in any Massachusetts divorce. Under General Laws Chapter 208, Section 34^[2], that includes the length of the marriage, each spouse’s age, health, income, and ability to earn in the future, and each spouse’s contribution to the marriage, including as a homemaker. Unlike a contested case, the court will not inquire into or consider evidence of either spouse’s individual marital fault when reviewing a 1A agreement.

If property division is straightforward in your case, your agreement still needs to address it clearly enough for the court to find it fair. Vague, incomplete, or inadequately supported terms can prevent the court from approving an agreement.

Residency Requirements Before You Can File

The same residency rules apply whether your divorce is contested or uncontested. Under General Laws Chapter 208, Section 4^[3], a divorce generally cannot be granted if the spouses never lived together in Massachusetts, or if the reason for the divorce happened outside Massachusetts and the spouses never lived here together before it occurred.

Section 5^[4] sets out the exceptions. If the reason for your divorce happened outside Massachusetts, you generally must have lived in Massachusetts for the full year immediately before filing. If it happened in Massachusetts, you generally must be domiciled here, meaning you live here and intend to make it your permanent home, at the time you file.

Financial Disclosure for a Joint Petition

Even in an agreed case, Massachusetts requires financial transparency. Supplemental Probate and Family Court Rule 401^[5] requires financial statements in divorce actions involving financial issues such as support or property division, listing income, assets, liabilities, and expenses.

• Long-form statement: required if you earn $75,000 a year or more.
• Short-form statement: used if you earn less than $75,000 a year.

Rule 410^[6] also imposes mandatory financial self-disclosure requirements in divorce actions generally. Depending on the documents involved and the specifics of your case, you and your spouse may need to exchange additional financial records beyond the Rule 401 financial statement.

The Court’s Review and Hearing

Filing a joint petition does not finalize your divorce automatically. A judge holds a hearing and, under Section 1A, has up to 30 days after that hearing to decide whether your agreement makes proper provision for custody, support, alimony, and property division.

If the court approves the agreement, a judgment of divorce nisi enters 30 days later without any further action from either spouse. If the court does not approve it, the agreement becomes void, and the case is dismissed without prejudice, which allows you and your spouse to address the court’s concerns and pursue a new filing if appropriate.

How Long an Uncontested Divorce Takes

Because there is no six-month waiting period for a 1A filing, an uncontested divorce generally moves faster than a contested one. Once the court approves your agreement, the judgment of divorce nisi enters 30 days later.

That judgment nisi then becomes absolute, or fully final, 90 days after it enters, under General Laws Chapter 208, Section 21^[7]. Neither spouse may remarry until the divorce judgment becomes absolute^[8].

How Porcello Law Offices Can Help

Porcello Law Offices has represented Essex County clients through 1A joint petitions for more than 50 years, guided today by second-generation attorneys Jean G. Porcello-Giusto and Anthony S. Porcello. Like any Massachusetts family law attorney, we represent one spouse’s interests in a case, including reviewing a proposed agreement, preparing filing documents, and advising you on whether the agreement protects what matters to you.

Personalized attention and powerful representation mean the same thing in an uncontested case as it does in a contested one: we make sure your agreement actually covers what it needs to, explain your options in plain language, and represent your interests even when you and your spouse are on the same page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question	Answer
Do we still need a lawyer if we agree on everything?	Massachusetts does not require it, but an incomplete or unclear separation agreement can prevent the court from approving a 1A petition. A lawyer can review the agreement and filing documents for legal and procedural issues before you submit them.
What happens if the court does not approve our agreement?	The agreement becomes void, and your case is dismissed without prejudice. You and your spouse can revise the agreement to address the court’s concerns and file again, rather than starting the entire process from the beginning.
Can we still get an uncontested divorce if we disagree about one issue?	A Section 1A divorce requires a complete agreement on the matters the court must resolve. If a material issue remains disputed, the case ordinarily cannot proceed through the 1A procedure unless the spouses resolve that issue and submit an agreement meeting Section 1A’s requirements.
How is this different from a contested divorce?	In a contested divorce, one spouse files alone and the case can involve a formal answer period, financial discovery, and possibly a trial. In an uncontested divorce, both spouses file together with an agreement already in place, so there is no summons, no answer, and generally a faster timeline.

Next Steps

If you and your spouse are ready to move forward with an uncontested divorce in Salem, Gloucester, or elsewhere in Essex County, the Porcello Law Offices family law team can review your agreement and help you file it correctly the first time. Learn more about our office locations or meet our attorneys to learn more about the team handling family law matters.

Schedule a free case evaluation with our attorneys at 978-745-5553.