5 Ways to Make Your Divorce End Faster

Assessing your family’s financial situation so you can equitably divide property and establish child support and spousal maintenance obligations is often one of the more complicated and time-consuming aspects of a divorce. The marital home, 401(k)’s, IRAs and Social Security benefits, pensions, a family business, disparity in the spouses’ incomes – all of these impact how much time will be spent resolving these key issues. If you can get a clear picture of your finances and that of your spouse at the beginning of the process and assemble the information and documents that can spare your lawyer the time and expense of having to do it themselves, that can save a bunch of time.

Divorce can bring out the worst in folks. Even the most level-headed people can find themselves consumed by the negative, destructive, or self-defeating emotions often involved in the process. While you may not have control over how your spouse handles his or her feelings, you can make an effort to control your emotions rather than have your emotions control your decision-making or cloud your judgment. This can increase the chances that you and your spouse can avoid unnecessary disputes and resolve necessary issues without the need for time-consuming court intervention.

The sooner a couple can reach agreements on core issues such as custody, visitation, property division, living arrangements, the sooner the divorce will conclude. To the extent you and your spouse can act civil and matter-of-fact in discussing these matters, you should try to get on the same page as much as possible. More agreement means less fighting, and if you can agree on everything, a relatively quick, uncontested divorce is possible.

As the Rolling Stones sang, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” That applies to divorce proceedings. You may feel that you are entitled to more assets, more time with your kids, and more maintenance and your spouse may feel the same applies to them. When the facts and circumstances merit such claims, they are worth fighting for. But the law establishes some principles and baselines that will apply in most cases, and you need to be realistic to avoid making demands that have little chance of success and will simply delay a resolution.

A good divorce attorney who understands your needs and goals, who knows how to work productively with the opposing lawyer and the judge, and who has the judgment and experience to navigate the process efficiently can make a divorce proceed faster. You want a lawyer who gets the law, but who also gets that you want your ordeal to conclude as soon as possible without compromising your rights.