How soon can I be divorced?

How soon can I be divorced?

            While Utah law has a 90 day waiting period, that does not necessarily mean that you will have to wait 90 days. The 90 day waiting period applies even if the parties are in complete agreement on the divorce. Recent emphasis on the waiting period, however, has made it increasingly difficult to obtain a waiver from the Court of the 90 day period.  Factors the Court will consider in determining to grant a waiver typically are as follows:

           

       (1) Is this your first marriage?

       (2) Is there a legitimate reason for waiving the 90 day period such as someone needs to have their name changed or restored for business or other legitimate reasons?

        (3) Are there children involved and have the parties completed the required divorce education classes?

        (4)  How long have the parties been separated?

If the parties are not in complete agreement and the divorce is contested, certain factors to consider when analyzing how long a divorce will take include:

        (1) The type, number, and complexity of the contested issues;

        (2) The desire of the parties to set aside their emotions and their willingness to settle;

        (3) The attitude and litigious nature of your spouse; and

        (4) The desire for litigation of the lawyer of your spouse.

Experience shows that the single most important factor in the length of a divorce is the intensity of the feelings between the parties. When the parties genuinely dislike each other or feel betrayed and hurt, the divorce tends to last longer because revenge and “winning” become the primary motives.  Also, if there is a dispute over child custody or the payment of alimony, the divorce will often need to take longer in order to conduct discovery or involve a child custody evaluator to provide insight on who should have custody.    

For further information contact Attorney Drew Gilliland at www.attorneydrew.com