You may have heard that January is National Divorce Month. For several years, it has been assumed that January has the highest number of divorce filings since people want to wait until after the holidays to file for divorce. People try to just grin and bear it through the holidays and then seek out a divorce once the Christmas tidings have passed.
However, while many people may be thinking about a separation or even a divorce over the holidays, starting the process of a divorce may take longer than you think. If you have not even spoken with an attorney until after the new year, you need to schedule a consultation which may take several weeks depending on the attorney’s schedule or how many you consult with. After that meeting, there is paperwork to fill out for the court. Your attorney will need to draft documents as well including a request for temporary orders and the Complaint for Divorce. Even if you are looking to get a Dissolution, getting an agreement on terms may take several weeks or even months.
Ending your marriage is not a race. There are many, many, details to consider. If you have started to think that this is the road you are going down, start to think about all those details. If you want to end your marriage in January, start to think about those details in the early fall. First and foremost – kids. Can you co-parent with the other parent? What would a parenting schedule look like? Negotiating a parenting schedule needs to balance the needs of the children with the needs of the parents.
Then come the financials. Who is keeping the house? Is there going to be support paid by either party? Have the parties already separated? What about the personal property?
Needless to say, there are a lot of details to consider and all of them must be memorized into court documents and submitted to the court prior to a final hearing. If you don’t have an agreement, filing a Complaint for Divorce and serving your Spouse with that Complaint is just the start of the Divorce process. After that, each case is different but, at the end of the day, all the assets and debts must be divided and the parenting of the children must be clarified.
So, the holidays may be over, and you may be ready to get divorced but there are several steps before you hear the judge say, “I find this agreement to be fair and equitable on its face and the parenting agreement to be in the best interests of the minor children and grant this divorce to the parties.” The best way to proceed is to seek legal advice from an attorney familiar with the local practice and get guidance on how to proceed in your local jurisdiction.