How long does it take to get a divorce in Massachusetts?
It all depends on how difficult the case is. If it is uncontested and agreements are made very quickly then a divorce may only take a month to a month and a half. If the case is contested it could take over a year. Factors including whether the divorce is fault based or no-fault based must also be taken into account.
Generally, as long as it takes for both parties to sign a separation agreement, plus four to eight weeks to schedule a court date. The divorce will become final either three or four months after the court date. If a case goes all the way to trial, a divorce can take as long as two years or more. Are there any preliminary steps I should take? Divorce is never easy. Nevertheless, there are a few steps you may wish to take to make the process go a little bit smoother: Keep a personal journal. Your attorney will ask you for information about your marriage and the situation leading up to the divorce decision. Start writing it out now. This will help you sort through the facts and explain them more clearly. Collect all financial, legal and other records and change your passwords to all your online accounts. Be advised that your spouse may not want you to have these documents, so consider collecting them in a safe place outside the home – maybe your workplace, the home of a trusted relative o
There is a 60 day waiting period required before a divorce will be final. Depending on the court’s schedule, a divorce may be granted in as little as 30 days. Can a Massachusetts divorce be granted if the respondent’s whereabouts are unknown? If the filing spouse has made a ‘good faith effort’ to locate the missing spouse, and can swear under oath and penalty of perjury that they do not know the current whereabouts of the respondent and have made an effort to locate them, the missing respondent can be ‘served’ by publication of a notice in a local newspaper. How is property divided in a divorce in Massachusetts? Massachusetts is an “equitable distribution” state, (by case law rather than statute), generally meaning that all marital property acquired during the marriage is subject to division. Property brought into the marriage i.e. that a person had before the marriage are not subject to division in a divorce. Does Massachusetts have Alimony? Yes. Alimony may be awarded to either spous
