Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
What can I do to accelerate the divorce process?
My wife filed a divorce in Oct. 2007. (Note: we filed first in Dec.06 but she requested dismissal for some reasons in Sept.07) As a defendant, I filed answer and counterclaim by admitting the allegations in early Nov. 2007. We pray the court to grant a divorce on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. Now I am moving out of the marital house, hoping that we can reach final settlement soon (equitable division of marital assets and other matters). However, I had impression that my wife does not have the desire to pursue the final settlement at this point. Instead, she wants to delay the process. She filed a court date in April 08 to have a so called �pre-trial�. I believe that we have already completed the discovery and would like to use the following 1-2 months to try to reach agreement with her. If we can not reach any agreement, I would like to use the April court date as a final judgment (not sure if this is practical and how to do get there). Bottom line is that I would like to pursue the final divorce settlement ASAP. Please let me know your thoughts on what should I do to achieve this goal. E.g. can I file a motion if I do not see possibilities of reaching agreement in the following month?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: What can I do to accelerate the divorce process?
First it takes a minimum of 6 months to get a divorce, if have children it takes more time. Assuming you have a Separation Agreement executed and agreed, you can avoid the Pre-Trial and go straight to the divorce.
You need to get a Separation Agreement executed between the two of you. If you or she has an attorney, then have them draft an agreement and complete the process.
If you have kids you have to go through parenting class (both of you).
Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions.
Re: What can I do to accelerate the divorce process?
First it takes a minimum of 6 months to get a divorce, if have children it takes more time. Assuming you have a Separation Agreement executed and agreed, you can avoid the Pre-Trial and go straight to the divorce.
You need to get a Separation Agreement executed between the two of you. If you or she has an attorney, then have them draft an agreement and complete the process.
If you have kids you have to go through parenting class (both of you).
Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions.
Re: What can I do to accelerate the divorce process?
THe best way to get your divorce DONE is to hire an attorney and have him or her nudge it along. Nothing is more motivational to the keep-it-dysfunctional-ditherer, in my experience.
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