Time in a Divorce Process – What You Need to Know (NC Guide)

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Some parts of the divorce can move faster, but others cannot. One thing that cannot move faster is the absolute divorce. To get an absolute divorce. You must be separated for one year and one day before you file the complaint. Other things can be faster because you and your spouse have reached an agreement, either directly between the two of you, speaking through mediation, or through negotiations through your attorneys.

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Are there things that you can do to speed up the divorce process? The answer is yes.

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One would be to waive statutory periods for typical response times to pleadings. The other would be to agree to have a hearing earlier than would normally be expected. And you also can reach agreements earlier in your case. So there are things that you can do to speed up your case getting resolved. What are some things that slow divorce cases down?

One of the biggest causes of delay is a lack of information. One side or the other is hesitant to produce financial records to the other party so that they can adequately and fairly review the marital estate. When that happens, we have to seek court intervention. So one of the biggest reasons for delay is one party hiding documentation about finances.

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Is there a way to get around the one year separation rule? And the answer is no. But it's important to remember that the one year separation rule is for the absolute divorce, and the divorce deals only with you being a single person in the eyes of the state of North Carolina. The big question for most clients is how can I get my property and custody and alimony issues resolved?

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Those happen independent of the absolute divorce case, so the other cases are treated independently from the absolute divorce, and it's important to understand the deadlines for those other cases and evaluating a realistic timeline for you to resolve the things that matter the most to you as a client, because those affect your day to day life early on in the separation.

Are there things that can be expedited in my divorce case? Yes. Frequently we try to move the negotiation pieces early into the case. Typically, that takes the form of a mediation where we hire an independent neutral to come in and discuss the case and settlement possibilities with both you and your lawyer and the other party and their lawyer.

And the mediator goes back and forth between the parties, exploring possibilities for settlement. Frequently. The best way to expedite your divorce case is to get into an early mediation. When a case is not resolving between the parties, we want to make an immediate transition to a different method for trying to get it resolved, if we want to get it resolved expeditiously.

The best way to do that is with a mediator.

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An important thing to remember is that if the parties can cooperate with one another, both towards providing of information and being open to discussions about settlement possibilities, the quicker your case can resolve, the cases that take a long time to resolve are the ones where there's a failure to produce adequate information and a failure to be able to reach a consensus about a reasonable way forward for both parties.

But to the extent you and your spouse can be cooperative and productive in your conversations, the quicker your case can be resolved.

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If you have questions about how we can help you resolve your case, please feel free to give us a call or contact us online through our website. We look forward to hearing from you.