Divorce is rarely easy. As you start your divorce in California, you may be hoping for an efficient and smooth process, but as the weeks and months go by you might start to wonder if you are doing something wrong.
Although under California law, there is a required six-month waiting period between the filing of a divorce petition and finalizing the divorce, it is common for many divorces to take much longer than six months to resolve.
If you have passed the six-month waiting period and find that you and your spouse are nowhere near resolving your divorce issues and finalizing your divorce, it is time to examine your situation and discover what is causing the hold up.
Determine if there is actually something wrong
The truth is that divorces often take longer than six months to complete. The average divorce takes between 12 to 18 months to resolve.
Do not assume that something is wrong because the six-month period has passed. If you and your spouse are on the same page as where you are in the process and what the next steps are, there might not be a problem.
For example, perhaps you own some valuable pieces of real estate and chose to have them appraised. You might have agreed on how to split the real estate between the two of you, but still be waiting for the appraisals to come in. This is likely a normal reason for a delay and nothing to be concerned about.
However, if your divorce has been going on for longer than 18 months, you haven’t spoken to your spouse in weeks and/or you have no idea the status of your divorce, it is time to start asking questions and move the process along.
Lack of cooperation or compromise
A common but simple reason for your divorce may be taking so long is that you and your spouse cannot agree on how to divide marital property. California is a community property state. Community property is property acquired during marriage and the law presumes that it will be split equally in a divorce.
Despite this law, many couples end up fighting over property and demand that they receive more than an equal share of the community property. If you and your spouse are in this situation, remember that divorce requires compromise and flexibility.
Additionally, when you cannot agree on some or all the issues, your only option will ultimately be to litigate the issues in court. This usually ends up costing both of you nothing but time and money, particularly since a court is likely going to order an equal or fair outcome, rather than giving you exactly what you want.
Clogged court dockets
Sometimes the delay is the court system itself. Court schedules can be busy and it can take time for your case to be heard.
Even if you have resolved your divorce issues and are waiting for the final divorce decree, a busy court docket means you may need to wait. Speak with the court or your attorney to get a realistic time of when to expect your divorce to be final.