How long will it take to get divorced?
Well,
it depends. It may take one to two months or one to two years. The length of
time from start to final judgment really depends on you, your spouse, and your
situation.
What assets and debts do you have?
You
will need to determine what items are community property (property eligible to
be divided between you and your spouse) and what items are separate property
(property not eligible to be divided between you and your spouse). You will
want to be sure that your separate property is not being considered as part of
the community estate! The overall size of the marital estate will also be a
factor impacting how long the divorce will take. If there are business
interests, retirement accounts, residential or commercial properties, etc., it
can take time to get an accurate value of the assets.
Do you have children under the age of
18?
If
so, can you and your spouse agree on a custody arrangement? If not, this issue
will likely take some time to be resolved. Having relevant evidence to support
your case for custody is very important.
Also,
you will be required to attend a Focus on Children workshop. This is a one-time
class to educate parents about how the divorce can impact their children. The
final divorce decree will not be signed by a judge until the class has been
completed. The scheduling of these classes varies by county. Usually, you can
expect the classes to be scheduled at least a few weeks after the parties have
filed their initial divorce paperwork.
What do you want out of the divorce?
The
answer to this question will have a huge influence in terms of how long it will
take to finalize your divorce. Do you want the car, house, furniture,
motorcycle, etc.? Regardless of what item you really want to keep post-divorce, courts will
make sure each party gets a relatively equal share of the estate (Idaho Code § 32-712:
“Unless there
are compelling reasons otherwise, there shall be a substantially equal division
. . . .”). Note, in some cases there are reasons why the assets should
not be divided equally. You will want to verify with an attorney whether there
are reasons why there should be an unequal division in your case.
Ultimately,
you and your spouse can agree to divide your debts and assets any way you want,
equally or unequally. Therefore, regardless of how much stuff you own, what you
are willing to part with may be the key to resolving the matter quickly. It
will be important for you to speak with an attorney to understand what your
rights are and what type of a division you should reasonably expect to get out
of your divorce.
If you need to speak with a Boise Divorce Attorney, give us a call at (208) 472-2383.