HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO FINALIZE A DIVORCE?

DONALD F. CONVISER, a Certified Family Law Specalist, owner of Warner Center Law Offices in Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley, an effective and aggressive Family Law and Divorce Attorney serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years, offering a free confidential consultation regarding your divorce or family law issues, at 818/880-8990, brings you another informative and educational blog, responding to questions posed to him by members of the public in areas of Family Law and Divorce.

I frequently receive questions from people regarding their family law issues. The following is a question which the inquirer agreed may be publicly revealed, and my answer to the question:

QUESTION: How long will I have to wait in California for my divorce to finalize? How long does it take to get my divorce finalized if I am in California? Will a lawyer speed up the process?

ANSWER: It depends on what happens in your divorce.

The soonest you could get a dissolution of your marriage would be six (6) months from the date your spouse was served with the Summons and accompanying documents.

If the parties enter into a Stipulated Judgment (after exchanging their requisite Declarations of Disclosure), it can be filed long before the six months are up, but in that case, the Court would dissolve the marriage, effective six months after service of Summons.

The time it takes the Court to process Judgments varies from Court to Court.

If there is no agreement, and if your spouse doesn't respond to the Petition within 30 days after service is made, you can file to take your spouse's default, and once granted, you can file for a default judgment, so long as you have served your requisite Declarations of Disclosure and you have complied with the requirements to file for a default judgment.

If your spouse files a Response to your Petition, and you can't settle the case with your spouse, you will need to seek to set the matter for trial, and it depends upon your particular court's calendar congestion as to how far in the future the trial will be set.

It would help for you to hire a competent family law attorney to handle your case, because he/she would know what should be done, how, and when.