How Long Will My Divorce Case Take?

How long will my divorce take to complete?  This is the most asked question when it comes to clients and their initial queries to their Orange County divorce attorneys. This question is almost as common as asking how much a divorce would cost them.

Typically when a client comes up to you and asks this question they are looking for a it will be quick answer. Whether that comes true or not will depend largely on how cooperative and conflict free your spouse is.

What happens in cases where you don’t have such a spouse? Well simply put, in such cases no lawyer can typically answer the question of how long your divorce case will take. Especially in cases where the other spouse is hell bent on stretching the divorce case. However, there are ways to combat these delays and make sure that your divorce case is resolved quickly.

Making Workable Settlement Offers

Before you start a divorce case, you need to figure out exactly what is it that you want. If you want to make sure that case resolves quickly, you need to be open to the possibility of making settlement offers. Settlement offers are attempts on your part to bring the other spouse on the table for discussion to try and agree a resolution to the case amongst them instead of it being decided by a judge.

Typically after the disclosures in the case have been made, you should look to engage the other spouse to settle the case. For that you should make sure that the settlement offer you make is enough to entice the other party top agree while not compromising on your own interests and prospects for the future. An amicable settlement agreement will usually result in the case being closed faster.

The Attorney Fee Motion

In some cases, attempts to try and settle the case fail because the other spouse is hell bent on trying to delay the case and churn out more and more attorney fees from you.  If the delays are unreasonable, it may be possible to seek sanctions and attorneys fees from that other spouse.  If successful, the amount of fees will be paid by the losing spouse in addition to their own attorney’s cost.

How long will the Case Take?

This is one of the hardest questions to answer. No divorce lawyer is able to accurately predict when the case would end. Yet, on an average if your divorce case is uncontested it will typically take 3-6 months, if it is contested it will take a year or two. Other complex cases with several disputes involved may takes years to end.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.