How Long Does it Take to Settle a Divorce and Why?

When thinking about getting a divorce, the most commonly asked question that arises is “How long will it take to finalize my divorce?” Although there is no fixed period, we can affirm that the procedure is resolved faster if it is a mutually agreed divorce. If it is a contentious divorce, the sentence takes much longer to arrive. We give you approximate deadlines for how long a divorce takes and explain what to do while you wait for the final divorce decree. 

The divorce process in the United States can take anywhere from 6 months to several years, with an average of 11 months. The length of the divorce depends on whether the parties involved agree on issues such as alimony, child custody, division of assets, and debts. 

How long does a divorce take?  

To give you an approximate idea, we give you deadlines that, we insist, can be variable depending on your case (your lawyer will know how to give you a specific approach to your divorce procedure):

• If it is a mutually agreed divorce, the procedure is resolved more quickly: it can be ready in 1 to 3 months.  
• If it is a contentious divorce, the time for it to be resolved and there is a sentence can be extended much more, between 8 and 18 months, depending on the court that is in charge.

However, the following factors that can make your divorce faster: 

Communication: If you maintain a cordial relationship before and during the divorce, the process will move more quickly. If there are open lines of communication and the parties agree on the most important issues, less time will be spent in court. 

Preparation: It is in your best interest to be prepared and plan, for example, what you want to do with custody of minor children, how to proceed with financial and business matters before filing for divorce. This will save you time and streamline the separation process.  

What influences that it takes more or less time?

As we said before, there are different factors that influence that it takes more or less some months to pass sentence:

Are we talking about a contentious divorce or a mutually agreed divorce?: A mutually agreed divorce is resolved more quickly, much more! It is also cheaper and less problematic, especially if there are children. 

The court where it has to be processed: the time it takes for a divorce is greatly influenced by the court where the lawsuit is filed, since some municipalities have much longer waiting times than others, depending on the volume of claims they handle, among other things.

Are there children?: With children, the process lengthens, since there are more aspects to be decided and the complication increases. Keep in mind that when the children are minors, the intervention of the Prosecutor's Office is required, whether or not it is a mutually agreed procedure, which, in most cases, makes the process longer. Your report may take weeks to issue and is an essential requirement for the Judge to enter to assess the matter.

How many assets are there in common?: Dissolving the economic partnership of the marriage is not a process that must be done at the time of filing the divorce, it can be done later, although it makes sense to do it at the time of writing the regulatory agreement to the divorce. This avoids continuing to be financially linked to the ex-partner, with the problems that this may cause.