A divorce can oftentimes be a daunting and complicated process for a lot of people. Since each divorce case is uniquely different, asking “How long does it take to get a divorce in California?” can have multiple answers. Depending on the circumstances, spouses can expect disagreements, court hearings, or even divorce trials to occur during their divorce process. All of which can greatly impact the overall time of a divorce.
What Are California’s Divorce Requirements?
Generally, the duration of a divorce can be anywhere from a few months to years. The requirements on the waiting period for granting a divorce are different in each jurisdiction. California law has a mandatory waiting period of 6 months. So if you are filing a divorce in California, you can expect the length of your divorce to take at least 6 months, and no sooner. During the mandatory waiting period, spouses are able to submit all their paperwork to the court and receive the divorce judgment approved. However, divorces cannot be finalized until the waiting period is over.
Factors That Might Prolong The Divorce Process
Six months is the minimum time spouses can expect a divorce to be finalized in California. However, some divorce cases may exceed this time frame. In a lot of cases, the duration of a divorce can be lengthened due to several factors. Here are some of the reasons why your divorce might be delayed.
Disagreements In The Divorce
When it comes down to a divorce, spouses will have to establish a lot of important decisions. Oftentimes, this can leave a lot of room for disagreements to occur. Some of the major issues that need to be concluded often include matters relating to property division, alimony, child support, and child custody, just to name a few. Hence, a divorce can go in one of two ways, couples are either on the same page, or they don’t. This is referred to as contested and uncontested divorces.
An uncontested divorce occurs when both spouses agree on all the important matters of a divorce. On the other hand, a contested divorce means that spouses cannot agree on those matters. The differences between the two scenarios have a significant impact on the duration of finalizing a divorce. For example, uncontested divorce typically does not require time-consuming legal procedures. However, spouses in a contested divorce case often need a judge to step in and decide their agreements for them. For this reason, a contested divorce often involves legal procedures such as trials or discoveries which can significantly draw out the divorce. Additionally, not only does a contested divorce take longer, but it is costlier as well.
Children During Divorce
A divorce can have a lot of effects on children. For families with kids, one of the most important matters to establish are issues such as child custody, child support, and visitation. Splitting up the responsibility of a child is never an easy matter to discuss. Parents must decide and agree on finding a solution to questions like who does the child live with, how much time will the child get to spend with the other parent, who will pay for child support, and how much? That is why the process of navigating through children-related matters is often lengthy, and will likely increase the timeline of the divorce. Under these situations, delays are inevitable because while some arrangements simply work well for a family, they might not for others.
For example, parents who are trying to establish the amount of time they have custody over their child or “timeshare”, can face problems if they live far away from each other, or if they don’t get along. In some cases, a detailed investigation may be required if there are allegations of child abuse or neglect. This can make it hard to establish how each parent can achieve equal and adequate time spent with their kids. Most families will need the time to figure out and adjust to these big changes.
Related: Divorce, Dissolution, and Legal Separation – The Differences
Division of Property
There are several ways property can be divided in a divorce. Mainly two things will determine how property will be divided;
- the kind of property that is to be divided, and
- the jurisdiction in which the spouses reside.
Courts will either divide the property through community property or equitable distribution, depending on the state where the divorce is filed.
California is a community property state, which means that most assets acquired during the marriage will be viewed as community property. In other words, both spouses each have equal ownership of assets. Usually, when the parties can’t agree on property division the court will divide it 50/50. A common problem with this is the ambiguity of which assets are community property and lead to a feeling of unfairness. For instance, spouses generally share one bank account. All the income that goes into the account will be divided equally, regardless of who earned more.
What Do I Do If My Divorce is Taking Too Long?
If a divorce is taking too long due to any of the circumstances mentioned above or other reasons, there are a couple of solutions that may help individuals speed up the divorce process.
Hire An Attorney
In California, individuals are not required to hire an attorney to file a divorce. As earlier mentioned, spouses in an uncontested divorce may typically handle the cases themselves. However, it is not always that simple. In most cases, spouses often have disagreements on some marital aspects that need to be resolved such as custody, property division, and alimony. This is why individuals are highly advised to seek out an attorney when dealing with a divorce. An attorney can reduce the divorce time by guiding you through complex legal procedures, help set and negotiate terms, and serve as a median between the spouses, and more.
Find a New Divorce Attorney
This may be a surprise, but your attorney may be the reason why the divorce process has been drawn out. An attorney might be prolonging the divorce by tackling the wrong areas of the case, dealing with matters in an untimely matter, or unable to efficiently communicate your goals to the other party. Whatever the reason may be, individuals have the option to terminate their attorneys.
Alternative Dispute Resolutions
The longer a divorce takes to settle, the costlier it will get. There are many cases where spouses completely deplete their savings before they can reach a settlement. A solution that can save you both time and money is considering alternative dispute resolutions (ADR). ADR can help resolve a divorce through informal negotiations. Typically, this is an out-of-court proceeding that aims to help spouses reach a voluntary settlement.
Bifurcate The Divorce
Spouses in California can shorten the divorce time by bifurcating their case. Spouses can file a motion to the court to request a “status only” divorce. After the bifurcation has been returned, spouses will return to their single status and will be allowed to remarry. In addition to that, bifurcation sets aside unsettled issues for spouses to resolve later. This is a good option for individuals looking to speed up their divorce because they are either trying to remarry or do not have time to settle issues.
Contact Pride Legal
If you or a loved one has been looking to get a divorce in California, we invite you to contact us at Pride Legal for legal counseling or any further questions. To protect your rights, hire someone who understands them.