How Long Does a Divorce Take in Alabama
For many, getting a divorce is one of life’s toughest experiences. For others, however, ending a marriage brings a feeling of hope and excitement for the future. Either way, divorce marks the beginning of a new chapter in your life. But before you dive headfirst into that new chapter, you first need to end the previous one. And this means finalizing your divorce.
But how long does it take to make the transition from “married” to “single”? At Kesling Law Firm, our divorce lawyer in Baldwin County, Alabama, helps clients at all stages of the divorce process so they can get to the next chapter of their life as soon as possible.
How the Type of Divorce Affects the Timeline
If you are concerned about how long it will take to finalize your divorce, it helps to identify what type of divorce you have. While no one—not even a family law attorney with decades of experience—can predict with 100% certainty how long your divorce will take, you can estimate the timeline of your divorce by looking at several variables. One of those variables is the type of divorce:
Contested divorce, as the name implies, is a type of divorce where spouses do not agree on major issues, such as asset division, child support, or child custody. As a rule of thumb, the fewer contested issues parties have, the less time it will take to finalize the divorce. Generally, contested divorces take anywhere from half a year to a year or longer, depending on the number of disputed issues.
Uncontested divorce is when spouses do not have any disagreements that require going to trial. This means the parties either agree on all key issues of divorce or one party files for divorce and the other party doesn’t submit their response. Generally, uncontested divorces take anywhere from one month (there is a 30-day waiting period in Alabama) to half a year.
Sometimes, a divorce may start as uncontested and turn into a contested one and vice versa. Whether you are looking to speed up your contested or uncontested divorce, consulting with an attorney could help. Our attorney at Kesling Law Firm can explain in detail what steps to take to move your divorce along faster.
The Legalities of Getting a Divorce in Alabama
In Alabama, you cannot end your marriage within days after filing a divorce complaint even if you and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse agree on everything and have a settlement on paper. That’s because of specific laws in Alabama that can increase the time it takes for you to become divorced:
Residency: In Alabama, you cannot file for divorce if neither you nor your spouse is a resident of the state. Under Alabama Code § 30-2-5, the residency requirement is met if you or your spouse have lived in the state for a minimum of six months before the divorce complaint is filed. If you haven’t lived in Alabama for six months and want to file for divorce in this state, waiting to meet the residency requirement means you will have to wait longer to get a divorce.
Response to a divorce complaint: Once you file for divorce and your spouse is served with a copy of the divorce complaint, the law gives them 30 days to respond. In their response, your spouse can either agree to the terms of the divorce or contest the divorce. If you are dealing with a non-cooperative spouse, chances are they would wait until the very last moment to file their response just to stall the divorce process.
Waiting period: In Alabama, you cannot finalize your divorce until at least 30 days after you file your divorce complaint. This is known as the “waiting period” and it applies even if both spouses are in agreement about the terms of their divorce.
Besides the aforementioned legalities, certain other factors could prolong the divorce process. The factors include the existence of children, high levels of conflict between the spouses, lack of cooperation, participation in the discovery process, and backlogs in the court system.
How Can You Speed Up the Divorce Process?
As a law firm that helps clients get divorced, we understand that many people are fed up with an unhappy marriage and want to do whatever they can to end the marriage and move on with their lives sooner. In most cases, the key to a quicker divorce is negotiation and cooperation. If you are dealing with a non-cooperative spouse or your attempts to negotiate a mutually acceptable divorce settlement have not been successful, you might want to consider working with a divorce attorney to expedite the divorce process.
Ending Your Marriage? We Can Help Make the Process Quicker and Less Stressful
If you’re considering ending your marriage or have already filed papers for divorce, the journey ahead might seem tumultuous and long. The weeks and months that follow can seem intolerable and emotionally exhausting. But this won’t go on forever. We, here at Kesling Law Firm, know that ending a marriage can be hard enough, which is why we work to speed up the process of finalizing divorce. With an office in Orange Beach, Alabama, we serve clients throughout Baldwin County and the Gulf Coast. Schedule a free consultation to discuss how long your divorce could take based on your unique circumstances and find out ways to speed up the process.