Divorce and family law disputes can be really stressful, uncomfortable experiences for everyone involved.  Understandably, people facing these cases oftentimes ask “how long does it take to get a divorce?” or “how long does a custody case take?””

The answer really depends on a lot of factors, some that are in your control and some that you have less control over. So if you’re asking yourself, “how can I make my divorce move faster?” there are a few things that may help speed up the process.

Negotiate

The “uncontested divorce” is the fastest way to resolve a case so that both parties can move on with their lives. Even if you don’t agree on everything, finding areas where you can compromise will allow you to get your case done faster and cheaper than if you simply refuse to negotiate. If you’re not willing to negotiate, you can expect to be waiting longer and paying more.

Gather Your Information Quickly

Before you can really negotiate in an informed fashion, you need to have all of your information. This can include gathering documents and doing research on various issues. The longer that it takes for you to gather that information, the longer your whole case will take.

Stay on Top of the Other Side

Even if you’re trying to negotiate and getting what you need to negotiate quickly, you still may find yourself waiting for the other side to do what they need to do. While unreasonably aggressive behavior may complicate things, you do need to be sure to stay on top of the other side so that they’re not able to prolong things by dragging their feet. There are legal mechanisms in place that you can use to force them to cooperate and you should work with your attorney to make sure that you use those mechanisms, if necessary.

Schedule Mediation

One very common reason why things can slow down is procrastination. Divorce and family law cases are not fun things living in a world that is full of other fun things to do. It makes sense then that some people may not jump at the chance to do something that isn’t terribly enjoyable. However, establishing a deadline to get the work done by scheduling a mediation is one way to eliminate the opportunity to procrastinate. A mediator’s calendar usually has a lot more availability and flexibility than court’s calendar. Using that resource can help eliminate a lot of time that would be spent waiting.

Be Prepared

Family Law courts are very busy places. A court’s calendar can unintentionally create a hurdle for your case. That’s why, if you do end up having to go to court, you need to be ready to present your case. Rescheduling and continuing cases can consume a lot of time and resources, so you need to make sure that you’re not contributing to any delays. This means being ready to talk about your case and present evidence in a timely and reasonable fashion.

Work with Someone Who Can Move Your Case Along

If you’re working with an attorney and you’re trying to get your case done quickly, you should try to work with a team that will move quickly for you. In our office, we help our clients get to negotiating as quickly as possible. We send our clients homework so that they know what they need to do to be ready. We request documents from the other side and hold them to deadlines so that they can’t cause a delay. And we work with our clients to be ready to negotiate resolution as quickly as is reasonably possible. We recognize how unpleasant these situations are and we try to get people off and into their new life with a good result as soon as possible. If your goal is to
move with efficiency, then you certainly should work with a legal team who values that efficiency as well.