Whenever I meet with a client for the first time, I am usually asked, “How long will it take for me to get divorced?” The answer is much simpler than you think.
I answer this question with “It all depends on you and your spouse.” Yahoo Finance recently had an interesting article about a Connecticut divorce and subsequent litigation that has been pending for over 10 years. Connecticut investment adviser David Zilkha and his ex-wife, Karen Kaiser, were married for five years before Kaiser filed for divorce. A little over two years after filing for divorce, the Judge granted the couple a divorce. Since that time, there has been over eight years of litigation regarding the children and legal costs with no end in sight.
Texas has a mandatory 60 day waiting period before you can get divorced. The 60 day waiting period begins the day a person files for divorce. This means the 61st day after a divorce petition is filed is the earliest date you can get divorced in Texas.
It is important to keep in mind there are only two ways you are going to get a divorce in Texas: 1) a final trial or 2) an agreement. If there are ten issues and you and your spouse can only reach an agreement on eight of the ten issues, then you will need to have a final trial over the two remaining issues.
The more two spouses are on the same page and are in agreement, the quicker and cheaper the divorce process will be. However, when spouses do not agree over issues pertaining to the divorce, litigation ensues with the result being hearings before a Judge to decide the issues that cannot be agreed upon between the spouses. Sometimes, it is impossible to reach an agreement with a soon to be ex-spouse and the Court’s intervention is necessary. However, the majority of divorces usually have some form of give and take when it comes down to negotiations and decision making.
Bottom Line – how quickly you get divorced in Texas depends on you and your spouse being able to cooperate and reach agreements.