Getting a Divorce Quickly Is Possible The divorce process doesn't have to take years or even months. If you can reach an agreement with your spouse about custody, visitation, spousal support, and division of property, your divorce can proceed through divorce court quite quickly. Yes, it is possible to file your own divorce and complete the process without the help of an attorney. However, before you begin a do-it-yourself divorce, consider these tips.
Residency requirements vary depending on where you live. States generally require at least one spouse to live in the state between 3 months and 12 months, and in the county where the spouse files for at least 10 days to 6 months before filing the petition. Divorcing spouses must meet the state's residency requirement before the court can accept the case. Here's everything you need to know about the process and how long it takes to get a divorce, so you can move on to the next chapter of your life as soon as possible.
A lower-fault divorce can be triggered when one spouse has less serious fault, or when they file a divorce against the other spouse. Whether you and your spouse negotiated during the divorce process, or a judge decided on matters important to you, the last step of divorce comes when the judge signs the divorce decree. This step can be a simple process if your spouse is willing to divorce and agrees to sign an acknowledgment of service receipt. However, the speed with which a judge will sign divorce papers will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and state to state.
If you don't properly serve your spouse, or if you don't file proof of service with the court, the judge won't be able to continue your divorce case. The divorce decree (or dissolution order) ends the marriage and details how the couple will allocate custody responsibility and parenting time, child and spousal support, and how the couple will divide assets and debts. Usually, the judge acts quickly to grant the temporary order, which remains in effect until the court orders otherwise or the divorce is finalized. The judge can't proceed with a divorce case if you don't properly serve your spouse and provide proof of service.
Whether or not both spouses agree to the divorce, before either couple can begin divorce proceedings, one spouse must file a legal petition asking the court to end the marriage. Whether or not both parties agree on the divorce, one spouse, the petitioner must file a legal petition asking the court to end the marriage. That said, how long mediation, arbitration, and your divorce will take depends largely on you and your spouse. After filing the divorce petition and the request for temporary orders, you must provide a copy of the documentation to your spouse and file proof of service with the court.
Other quick states include New Hampshire (which has no minimum processing time), Nevada (which only requires six weeks of residency and a minimum processing of 42 days), and Alaska (which has a minimum processing time of 30 days for residents), according to the Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group. All assets and debts acquired during the marriage are jointly owned in these states and are divided equally if a couple divorces.
