How Long Does a Divorce Take in New Jersey?

Many surveys have listed divorce as the second-most stressful event in a person’s life, which may explain why most divorcing couples fret about the time it will take to go through the process. In most cases, a divorce takes about a year. However, a host of factors will either lengthen or shorten the process. For more information on how long a divorce will take in New Jersey, please continue reading, then contact one of our experienced Morris County, NJ divorce lawyers soon.

How long does it take to get a divorce in New Jersey?

To obtain a divorce in the Garden State, you or your spouse will have to continuously reside in the state for at least one year. Once you or your spouse have met that requirement, you have several options as to how you would like to proceed. These options will depend on several factors, including whether:

You or your spouse cites fault-based grounds for your divorce: Adultery, abandonment, imprisonment or an inability to consummate the marriage will all impact the dissolution process.
You or your spouse can agree on child custody and parenting, child support, spousal support and/or distribution of assets and debts: Disagreement on any of these points will require litigation to resolve and, thus, slow down the divorce process.
The spouses signed a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement: Whether drafted before or after the spouses marry, having a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can speed up the divorce process.

What other factors can lengthen your divorce in New Jersey?

Other factors that could prolong your divorce include:

Difficulties serving your spouse with divorce papers: The law requires the service of divorce papers to your spouse because he or she must have an opportunity to respond.
Complex issues: Having one or more businesses, homes, vehicles, loans and children will require more time to adjudicate than cases without those elements.
A high level of conflict: If you and your spouse can’t discuss the issues by yourselves, you will have to involve the courts.
Accusations of domestic violence: This issue may require additional hearings for orders of protection and time spent detailing the violence and resulting injuries. It may also affect child custody cases.
Hidden assets: If a spouse tries to conceal assets, it will require the intervention of an investigator and/or the court system to uncover them.
Court calendars: Despite potential backlogs, you must wait until your assigned court dates and factor in scheduling conflicts.

How do you speed up your divorce in New Jersey?

First of all, you should hire one of our skilled New Jersey divorce and family law attorneys. With a buffer between you and your spouse, you might try:

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Instead of proceeding to trial, try mediation, collaborative divorce or arbitration. It saves time and money.
Working together: Without involving the courts, you, your spouse and your attorneys might try hashing out an agreement on your own by talking through the issues and offering possible solutions.

Our firm is here to help, so please give us a call today.