An uncontested divorce can either mean an agreed divorce or a default divorce. An agreed divorce simply means the spouses agree about all divorce-related terms and are willing to sign the divorce paperwork, while a default divorce means one party does not respond to the divorce petition or fails to appear in court.

Uncontested divorces are generally faster and less costly than contested divorces because the spouses avoid court litigation. However, couples can agree to participate in divorce mediation, in which an unbiased third party encourages communication between the parties in order to resolve their differences and reach a final agreement without going to court. But, if both parties cannot agree on all divorce-related terms, then a judge will decide on all issues.