How Long Does Uncontested New York Divorce Take?

Long Island attorneys help eliminate down time to expedite your divorce

If you want an uncontested divorce done quickly and correctly, you need an attorney with experience. There are innumerable factors that can drag out legal proceedings, so your attorney must know how to anticipate impediments and resolve them in a timely manner before they lead to frustrating and costly delays. At Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C., we’ve been negotiating and litigating divorces for more than 20 years. We are Long Island’s largest and busiest family law and divorce firm because we provide effective service that meets our clients’ needs. When you come to us for an uncontested divorce, we focus our team’s efforts on achieving a resolution that meets your goals in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost.

Condensing the calendar for uncontested divorce in New York

An uncontested divorce happens when couples negotiate a marital settlement agreement that covers all the issues of their divorce (child custody, child and spousal support, division of property) and presents the agreement to the court for approval. When the spouses are willing to work together to make the divorce happen, it is possible to eliminate a great deal of the wait time that is factored into the uncontested divorce process. For example, consider this sequence of events:

• The petitioner files for divorce and serves the respondent spouse with papers.
• The respondent has 120 days to file an answer.
• As soon as the respondent files, the petitioner can file a “Note of Issue,” placing the case on the court calendar, which could be anywhere from a four to 12 week wait, depending on how busy the court is.
• If the couple waits until the court date to present a signed marital settlement agreement, the court would have to take additional time to consider it, so another hearing would have to go on the busy court calendar.

Under these circumstances, it could take the court as long as seven months to issue a divorce decree. However, prior planning can shorten this process considerably. Suppose the respondent doesn’t take 120 days. What if the respondent had notice of when the petitioner would file, and was already working on an answer? Suppose the couple had their attorneys working on a settlement agreement even before the initial filing? What if they were able to file their settlement agreement along with the Notice of Issue, so the court could review the settlement prior to the first hearing date?

By working aggressively in talks with opposing counsel, we can often condense the process by eliminating wait time, so that you can get a final divorce decree within three short months. This process also allows us to control how much your uncontested divorce costs.

Consult an experienced Long Island attorney to expedite your uncontested divorce.

Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C. has the experience to move your uncontested divorce efficiently through the court system. To schedule a free initial consultation with a determined attorney, call us at 1.631.479.3839 or contact our office online. Pick up the phone and get the process started today!