How fast can a divorce be processed and complete?

It's a state thing and divorce laws vary from state to state.

http://www.divorcesource.com/ds/main/state-divorce-laws-656.shtml

There's reams of information about this. Select a state and search on 'filing a divorce' or 'divorce proceedings'.

Every state has its own laws, but the biggest sticking point in divorce is almost always child custody/support, and visitation. If that's disputed, divorce can drag on for a long time. Division of property is also another potential pitfall. If neither of these are issues and both parties agree to the basic principle of an amicable split, things go much faster (but probably will still take a few months, depending on the court's backlog). The bottom line is that divorce is a legal action in which one party sues another. That always takes time.

Yeah, it depends on state, whether or not one party contests, and child issues. In Mississippi, my (now ex-)wife and I had no kids together and agreed to everything before we filed. Our lawyers drew up the papers, we signed, waited the required 60 days, the judge signed off and it was done. We didn't even have to appear in court.

Chris P said:

Yeah, it depends on state, whether or not one party contests, and child issues. In Mississippi, my (now ex-)wife and I had no kids together and agreed to everything before we filed. Our lawyers drew up the papers, we signed, waited the required 60 days, the judge signed off and it was done. We didn't even have to appear in court.

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Pretty much the same for me in New Jersey, even with kids. We worked out custody and property arrangements between ourselves, no counseling, no court. I can't remember how long it took from filing to being finalized -- it was about eight months from the initial discussion, but most of that wasn't required wait time, just how long it took to work out the legal stuff in addition to life stuff.

Unimportant said:

(where I live, it's a minimum of two years to get a divorce).

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Geez.

I've seen two friends divorce, and it was six months in both their states.

My first wife and I were legally separated in Ohio for close to 18 months. We lived apart, and had filed a separation agreement (including child custody and support) in August of 92. I decided in December of 93 I was really, really done, and told my lawyer to file for a dissolution. We were in court in mid-March, and it was done-done that day.

It all depends on so much to be honest - where the story is set, the reasons for divorce, how quickly the courts can process it, whether or not there are children or property or business to deal with and divide, and whether the other party is going to contest the reasons for the filing.

Here divorce is pretty complicated (as I'm finding out) and typically takes between 1 and 2 years assuming there are no issues. I know in teh south of Ireland divorce is even harder and I know of some couples who have been tied up in the process for 5 or 6 years with no sign of completion.

Could you take debating the story ideas elsewhere, please.

A week? In what state? In most places, you can't even get to see an attorney in a week. No way are you going to get on a court calendar in a week. And even if there are no appearances in court, the papers still have to be reviewed by a judge, or at least filed.

I just can't see a week as being at all realistic.

Again I'll ask you to take it off this thread. Andre has been given advice, whether he chooses to use it or not is not a matter for story research.

Things I hate #7 - when someone asks a good question, gets good responses and then deletes the question so no one else can benefit.

#sigh

shaldna said:

Things I hate #7 - when someone asks a good question, gets good responses and then deletes the question so no one else can benefit.

#sigh

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I'm with you.

Please consider restoring the title and OP, Andre. Other people might find the info useful -- but as it is now they won't know to check this thread.

I have asked AndreF to reinstate his original post and provided the required information to do so.

Please don't do this folks. It requires our wonderful contributors to answer the same questions repeatedly and is disrespectful of their time and contribution.

Unimportant said:

As others have noted, it varies from state to state (and from country to country -- where I live, it's a minimum of two years to get a divorce).

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thedark said:

Geez.

I've seen two friends divorce, and it was six months in both their states.

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Just to clarify, thedark, the process is very simple and usually takes about a month. But the only grounds for divorce are "two years separation". Nothing else is relevant, not adultery nor anything else. I think Aus is similar, but only one year (which I think is more reasonable). And the only grounds for defending the application is that the couple has not actually been separated for two years,

Although, say for the purposes of remarrying, that timespan can be a complication, I think a positive of the system is that it tends to create less acrimony. My partner divorced in the UK, and it seemed to me that what happens is that the petitioner is pushed to come up with as many faults in their partner's behaviour as possible, and the respondent will be told by their lawyer that it will be pointless and a waste of money to defend the application (if one person is initiating a divorce it is pretty obvious that the marriage is beyond repair)...so there is an aggrieved sense on the part of one party that they are defenseless against what could seem like a character assassination. It's almost inevitable that this adds to the acrimony of the whole process.

In the NZ system, there are no grounds that require one party to accuse the other of anything. The sole grounds for divorce is that the couple has been separated for that required length of time, whether or not any formal or legal separation process was involved.