An uncontested divorce will be finalized within 90 to 120 days. If there is a separation agreement involved, the deadline is closer to 120 days. There are simplified divorce procedures for people who fully agree and can apply to you. That's why it's important to talk about this with a lawyer.
The Massachusetts Probate and Family Court has issued a standing order that estimates the duration of a contested divorce to be 14 months. However, this process may still take longer, depending on what disputes are involved with a divorce and how busy the court system is. The court will set a hearing date after all paperwork has been filed. Both spouses must attend the hearing, unless the court has accepted an attendance waiver for one of the spouses.
A spouse would have to file a motion requesting a waiver of attendance before the hearing for this. The judge may ask questions about the affidavit or separation agreement. If you have decided to end your marriage, you may choose to file for divorce. You can file for divorce in Massachusetts if you have lived in the state for a year, or if the reason why the marriage ended occurred in Massachusetts and you have lived in Massachusetts as a couple.
You can find information here on how to file for divorce, what are the types of divorce, how to get a copy of your divorce record and more. Divorce cases can reach a conclusion very quickly or may take a long time to complete. With the burden of cases that judges have on their plate, family law trials are usually set six to nine months after the pre-trial conference hearing, assuming that all discovery has been made and the case is ready for trial. If your trial will take several days to be heard by the court, your trial will be set even further.
The pre-trial conference hearing is usually not set until about nine months after a divorce complaint is filed. Therefore, even in the fastest of circumstances, a family law (divorce) litigator will generally not see a trial to settle your case until more than a year after the initial complaint is filed. The residency requirement is intended to prevent spouses from moving to Massachusetts for the express purpose of filing for divorce there. Even so, this is considerably less time than it normally takes to go through the process of a traditional and contested divorce.
Although annulments can be granted, the court's preference is not to annul, but for the parties to divorce. In general, a divorce can be granted within about one month after filing, if a settlement agreement is reached and if notice of the process is executed immediately. When someone wants to file for a 1B divorce in Massachusetts, they do so by filing a divorce complaint. For example, you cannot have lived in Massachusetts for six months before moving to Nebraska for another six months and then returned to Virginia to file for divorce.
Under Massachusetts law, you have the right to represent yourself in all legal cases, including divorce. There is no need for a trial and the process is simpler, faster and less expensive than a contested divorce. Massachusetts does not have an official form for the settlement, but many online divorce services will provide you with this document, based on the information you provided. If your spouse has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor with a sentence of at least 18 months, you can file for divorce.
For contested divorces, hiring a lawyer means having the necessary protection when two parties disagree about their separation. If your spouse does not respond, the court will proceed with the divorce as long as the notice of the proceedings has been successfully completed. In Massachusetts, neither cunnilingus nor fellatio, which the law defines as sodomy, is grounds for divorce and, in general, neither is considered adultery. It's very important to find out if your spouse has a pension, retirement account, insurance, or other important assets before deciding whether to file your own divorce.
Sometimes it is not a separate contract, but until the judge approves it, it becomes part of the divorce decree (this is called a separation agreement that has been “merged with the divorce decree). . .
