One of the first questions asked by many people who are divorcing is “how long will it take?” We wish there was an answer to this that you could concretely rely upon! But there, is not. The time frame for your divorce will depend on all the unique intricacies of your individual situation. Some divorces take just months while others can take a year or more. Typically, the more complex your finances and your marital life, and the more antagonistic your relationship is with your spouse, the longer it will probably take.
CONTESTED OR UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
There are two general types of divorce: contested and uncontested. If you and your spouse cannot compromise and cannot come to an on all the issues in divorce, such as dividing assets, alimony, child custody, visitation, and child support, your divorce remains contested, and these decisions will ultimately need to be resolved by the court or an arbitrator. Ongoing infighting between spouses, court schedules, and finding experts to testify related to asset valuations and children’s concerns can lead to a long and drawn-out and expensive process.
When couples agree on everything and file for an uncontested divorce, a judge from the New Jersey courts will sign off on your agreement, which typically means a faster ending to the marriage. It can take a few days to a few weeks to a few months to get a copy of the official divorce judgment. Of course, many divorces start out as contested and require negotiations to arrive at agreement. Trying to come to agreement requires give and take. The spouses’ respective divorce attorneys as well as a neutral mediator may help parties reach compromise in the most effective and efficient way possible given the situation.
COMPLEX PROPERTY AND ASSETS
If you and your spouse have complex property and assets, such as is the case in high-net-worth divorce, the timeline to officially ending your marriage can be longer than for less affluent spouses just because there are more voluminous assets to discuss and divide. In divorces involving a lot of property and assets, conflict may be especially high because parties do not want to lose what they have worked so hard to gain. Or a spouse who is not the high earner may be afraid of their comfortable lifestyle’s slipping away or may simply want to stick it to their spouse because they are angry at them.
Factors that can extend high-income divorces include disputes related to prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. One spouse may claim that it was signed under duress so it isn’t valid. Or a spouse may accuse the other of hiding assets to avoid having them be divided in divorce, and this accusation will need to be investigated, further extending the divorce timeline.
In any case, the more fighting between spouses over who gets what, the longer the divorce will take.
Even if you and your spouse are respectful of each other and generally agree on the issues of divorce, when you have complicated assets such as businesses, stocks, IRAs, vacation homes, rental properties and other assets, it can take significant time to identify all of your holdings and have them valued so that you arrive at distributions that are fair to both of you.
In lower affluent cases, it is a prickly spot to be in because the cost of litigation and fighting may outspend the cost of what the parties are trying to hold onto, or worse, spending significant funds in legal fees to argue over dividing up debt.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FILE AN APPEAL IN A DIVORCE CASE?
If your divorce was contested and you believe the court’s decision was unfair, you may be able to file an appeal. You cannot appeal simply because you do not like the outcome of the divorce case. There must have been an error in law or a factor that the judge did not consider but should have.
You must file an appeal within 45 days after the final judgment of divorce is issued. Your knowledgeable New Jersey divorce attorney can discuss this with you and determine the next steps.
CONTACT AN EXPERIENCED NEW JERSEY HIGH-ASSET DIVORCE LAWYER
Undergoing divorce is a stressful process. It is understandable that you would want to get through it as quickly as possible. But you do not want to make financial or other concessions that are unfair to you just to get out of your marriage faster. Decisions that you make now will affect you for the rest of your life, so you want to be sure to make the right ones.
Our experienced attorneys at [MFR] Men’s & Fathers’ Rights Divorce Lawyers are focused on helping affluent individuals effectively resolve their complex divorces in the most advantageous and timely way possible based upon their personal circumstances.
When you need assistance with your New Jersey divorce, we encourage you to reach out for a confidential case evaluation. Call us at (201) 880-9770 to schedule a consultation.