In California, spouses must wait at least 6 months before they can get divorced. But, in reality, most divorces take years. Even in the rare cases where everyone agrees to an early global settlement of all issues, or to resolve only the issue of marital status in a separate judgment, it can take the court many more months to enter a divorce judgment.
In short, expect delays. You cannot plan your divorce party just yet unless you use the new streamlined joint petition for dissolution with cooperation from your spouse, or both qualify for the summary dissolution process, only available to the lucky few.
With only a few forms, it is easy to start the standard divorce process. But bringing a case to judgment requires experience which our firm provides.
To speed up the case, the sooner you and your spouse complete the mandatory financial disclosures the sooner you can enter into agreements to settle issues. Until the mandatory financial disclosures are exchanged, the community property of the marriage cannot be divided.
This assumes that both spouses are fully forthright and disclose all of their assets and debts, and income and expenses. When one spouse is less than forthcoming, discovery is required to get the omitted information. For example, you have the power to obtain your spouse’s bank statements directly from the bank. But, this adds costs and delay. Discovery motions can be filed with the court to get compliance.
I am focused on obtaining resolution to issues in my clients cases, and to bringing their cases to judgment economically and efficiently.
If you would like to discuss the specific facts of your divorce case, please set up a consultation.
