If your marriage is on the rocks and you’re considering divorce, then you’re probably wondering how long the process will take. There’s no clear answer here, as the length of your marriage dissolution proceeding will depend on the facts, the issues that need to be addressed and its contentiousness. That said, the process can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more.
There are certain factors that can increase the amount of time it takes to get a divorce, such as having to litigate issues at trial and having to parse through complex financial records, but the process isn’t completely outside of your control. In fact, there are several steps that you can take right now to help speed up your divorce so that you can close this chapter of your life and properly prepare yourself for the next.
At times, it can feel like your divorce is spinning out of control and that you’re at the whims of the legal process. But there are concrete actions you can take to seize control of your case to ensure that it moves along expeditiously while still protecting your interests. These steps include:
- Getting organized: You don’t want to get deep into your divorce and have to burn up time looking through records to figure out which issues are truly in play and how best to lay out your legal arguments. You need to know all that information early on, which is why it’s important to get organized from the get-go. Gather all relevant records, organize them by category and comb through them so that you have a command of the facts that are relevant to the divorce legal issues that are at hand in your divorce.
- Creating a post-divorce budget: By creating one of these post-divorce budgets, you’ll have a realistic idea of what your post-divorce life will look like and what sort of financial resources are needed to be stable. This, in turn, will give you guidance as far as what property you need to advocate for and whether any other type of support needs to be sought. Your post-divorce budget can also serve as compelling evidence both during negotiations and during litigation should your case wind up going to trial.
- Finding effective ways of communication: If you and your spouse can’t communicate in a meaningful way, then your divorce is bound to drag out. So, look for effective and efficient ways to talk to your spouse that won’t lead to unnecessary contentiousness. If you can’t talk face-to-face, then you might want to resort to email and text messages. Your attorney can also help facilitate effective communication that drives toward resolution.
- Using leverage and strategy appropriately: If you want to fight over every little issue in your divorce, then the process is going to take a significant amount of time. But by identifying what your spouse wants out of the divorce, you can use leverage to secure a favorable position on issues that are important to you. It’s okay to let your spouse win on some issues. This can generate good will and perhaps buy you an opportunity to win on the matters that are more crucial to your future.
Don’t walk into your divorce unprepared
Preparation is key to quick and effective divorce. If you step into your marriage dissolution unprepared, then your spouse will probably take advantage of you, which could leave you in a difficult financial position when all is said and done. So, educate yourself on the law and facts of your case, get organized and figure out the best way to advocate for a favorable outcome. Hopefully then you can speed up your marriage dissolution while still securing the post-divorce life that you want for yourself.