Divorce can be one of the most emotional and stressful experiences anyone will ever go through in their lifetime, not to mention time-consuming and costly.
Some cases are complex and contentious, which will lengthen the process considerably; even non-contested and uncontested matters can take longer than anticipated for various reasons.
1. The Case Is Too Complex
Divorces can be complex affairs that necessitate gathering significant amounts of information; discovery can take up to one year even in simple cases.
Once your lawyer understands your circumstances, they can request an initial court conference with the assigned Judge and request a schedule for discovery from them.
However, this process can be prolonged by incompatibilities between spouses during this timeframe and difficulty scheduling events or meetings in advance. Therefore, it is highly advised to retain a family law attorney with expertise in divorce cases to make sure your attorney prioritizes your case while working efficiently on it.
2. The Case Is Too Time-Constrained
As most jurisdictions have an overwhelming backlog of cases, which can make yours seem to move slowly, after you file and serve summons and complaint there is usually a period until filing what is called Request for Judicial Intervention (“RJI”).
Once this form has been submitted, an initial court conference (commonly known as a “Preliminary Conference”) will be scheduled with either a judge or Court Attorney Referee and should typically occur two to four weeks post filing of RJI.
Discovery typically lasts 2-4 months before parties may attend additional court conferences that can last another 2–12 months; these delays can add up quickly.
3. The Case Is Too Contested
Ideally, the process may move faster if all aspects of your divorce can be settled quickly between you and your partner; however, this is not always the case; in New York contested divorces can take nine to 12 months to finalize.
Reasons for this include discovery proceedings requiring both parties to go through. This may involve gathering bank, investment and retirement account statements as well as employment records, tax returns and other financial documents that need reviewing by a judge’s staff – an exhausting process itself!
Additionally, parties may disagree over various issues such as alimony, child custody and the division of property – even minor disagreements over these topics can turn an uncontested divorce into one that’s bitterly contentious.
4. The Case Is Too High-Conflict
High conflict cases take longer to resolve due to their inherent hostility between spouses. Lack of effective communication often escalates disagreements into full-scale battles; additionally, uncooperative spouses who refuse to cooperate with their lawyer and/or court system can slow the case’s progression further.
An aggressive spouse could deliberately prolong the discovery process by withholding financial data, or filing false accusations of child or spouse abuse to delay proceedings and prolong hostility between partners in a marriage, creating unnecessary time, stress and expense for everyone involved while keeping couples who want out from moving forward with their lives.
5. The Case Is Too Long
As frustrating as it can be, when your spouse takes too long to produce documents or file requests that seem unnecessary, delays in your case could stall its completion and create further frustrations.
However, due to limited court resources dedicated to family courts, domestic cases often exceed what one judge can manage. That means yours may get shoved to the back until your lawyer secures an appointment date for hearing it.
Remember, too, that a contentious divorce takes longer than uncontested. Issues related to custody and property division often necessitate extensive discovery and investigation processes that require time.
