The length of time needed to finalize a divorce depends on many factors. If one or more of the key issues in your divorce cannot be resolved, the matter is contested. Then it can take six months to a year or more to navigate through the process of litigating the fault-grounds, the equitable distribution, and the support issues. The court must also rule on child custody and visitation. If held separately from divorce proceedings, such hearings will draw out the process even more.
A no-fault grounds divorce proceeding, based on the spouse's separation, requires the spouses to be living apart for a designated period of time, which often varies by state. If there are children or there is no separation agreement between the couple, they usually must wait one year. Spouses who have no minor children from the marriage, and do have an agreement would only need to be separated six months. No-fault divorces are often finalized in just a few months-sometimes even less, depending on the overseeing court's efficiency and caseload.
In many states, a person going through a divorce can have his or her marital status officially changed even before resolving all the details of divorce. This legal twist usually comes about when one spouse wants to remarry before the resolution of related issues, such as child custody, visitation, alimony, and property division. In states permitting this bifurcation of issues and hearings, the court will handle dissolution of the marriage prior to handling the other issues in separate and later proceedings.
Like marital status, bifurcation can expedite an advantageous tax status, too. A signed divorce degree returns a person to the legal status of unmarried (single) for tax filing purposes, even if the other issues have not been finalized. A spouse going through a divorce might benefit from a fresh start as a "single" taxpayer. Of course, only a qualified professional can tell you if bifurcation makes sense for you.
Before you avail yourself of this hasty dissolution, check out the laws of your state. In some, bifurcation is not available, other states restrict it, others are more liberal. Even on a court-by-court basis, different standards apply.
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