Get on the path to results today. child custody attorney divorce lawyer marriage divorce lawyer free consultation Hartland
Get on the path to results today. child custody attorney divorce lawyer marriage divorce lawyer free consultation Hartland
Okay, so you are probably wondering how long it is going to take to get this over with. The simple is answer lays in the law. In layman term there is a cooling off period. This is a buffer to avoid rash decision. If there are no minor children it is a 60 day cooling off period. If there is minor children there is a 6 month cooling off period. The parties can stipulate to waive the cooling off period with cause. Often times on the 6 month period the parties or the court will waive the cooling off period if it is in the best interest of the children. This is often the case, as the whole divorce case can be very taxing on the children and the courts sometimes take the view it is best to allow them to get on with there life.
Sometimes you will hear or see divorce cases that drag out for years. It is usually about the money. The couples can't agree to anything. The divorce process will got through mediation a number of times and no agreement can be reached. At that point the court will set it for trial. Sometimes the court docket gets back logged. And the trial will get adjourned over and over. This is rare, but it does happen.
From a personal experience, I find that most divorces without children wrap up in about 90 days. In general. And cases with minor children usually take about 9 months. In general. Often times the process can go a little quicker than it does. If the attorneys are quick about getting discovery done early and go into mediation with a clear understanding of what is going on then a case can be wrapped up on time. Sometimes parties can get wrapped up in personal property. i.e. pots and pans, records & CD, family pictures, etc. In cases like to avoid a long drawn out court ordeal the parties will put in the final divorce judgement that personal will be decided by binding arbitration. When a case goes to arbitration they can have there attorney there if they want. But the arbitrator will make a ruling on who gets what and that's final. It is binding. An arbitration award is issued and its done. If the case goes to arbitration post judgment it can get expensive and can drag out the process even longer. Usually, when there is arbitration the case is getting old. It has been mediated a couple of times and there have been court dates and the parties just refuse to agree on something. Arbitration can add another 4 or 5 months to the process. So the minimum it takes to get a divorce in Michigan is 60 days. It usually takes about 6 to 9 months for a divorce with minor children. And sometimes in a more contested divorce it can drag on for years, but that usually involves a marital estate of substantial assets.
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