Even though it seems intimate and personal, your marriage is not an exclusively private matter. It is also a legally binding contract between you, your spouse and the state. Consequently, ending your marriage requires filing a lawsuit and going through a court proceeding.
If your marriage is not working for you, you may believe your divorce cannot come quickly enough. In New York, some divorces are over in a matter of weeks, while others take a year or more to conclude. How long it may take to finalize your divorce likely depends on a few factors.
Factors that affect divorce timeframes
While there are certainly exceptions, more complex divorces typically take longer to resolve. The following factors may indicate whether you have a complex or simple divorce:
- Whether you have a contested or uncontested divorce
- Whether you have children
- Whether you intend to pursue spousal support
Even simple divorces are subject to court congestion and bureaucratic delays. If the court docket is an especially crowded one, for example, finalizing your divorce may take longer. The same is true if the court must take measures to protect individuals during times of calamity, such as a global pandemic or natural disaster.
Tactics for speeding up the divorce process
Despite not being able to pin down an exact length of your divorce process, you may find comfort knowing your divorce proceedings will eventually conclude.
Nevertheless, if a fast divorce is important to you, you may be able to accelerate your divorce process by implementing a few different tactics. Gathering important financial data, looking for common ground and deciding what you are willing to give up may help to move your divorce along more quickly.