Both uncontested and contested divorces have their unique characteristics. The shortest approach to getting a divorce is through an uncontested divorce, which requires both parties to sign a joint complaint and a full separation agreement and can be mediated by a divorce attorney in Boston, MA.
If your case is taking too long in court, try some strategies to speed things up.
- Come to an agreement! Agreeing with your spouse to settle all the issues is the quickest method to end the case. When you and your spouse are ready to have the judge recognize your separation agreement and enter a judgment nisi, you can phone the court and ask for an “uncontested” hearing date. After the hearing and the subsequent few months, you will have a final divorce.
- Get a motion filed. Any party to a divorce proceeding may petition the court to issue orders regarding any number of issues by filing a move with the court. Requests for restraining orders prohibiting the other party from making a certain action, child support, alimony, custody orders, payment of certain joint debts like a mortgage or credit card, etc., are all fair game. Setting a hearing date alone will trigger the court to schedule additional hearings, such as a Case Management Conference or Pre-Trial Conference if none have been scheduled yet.
- Rule 16 allows for the submission of a motion.
Your spouse’s delay tactics could be attributable to a number of factors
Divorce cases are sometimes prolonged because one or both parties are too indolent to settle. On the other hand, parties to a divorce lawsuit may deliberately drag their feet in order to obtain a strategic advantage. If your spouse is slowing down your case, use one of these strategies to get things moving:
- Get started with discovery: discovery is a toolbox provided to every litigant in family law to learn as much as possible about the other party and any other relevant third parties. Lawyers can pressure your spouse or other third parties to disclose relevant material to them. The stress of responding to discovery requests could encourage your partner to help you reach a mutually agreeable settlement.
- Mediation: Regardless of where you are in the divorce process, you can sit down with a neutral third party to assist you in working out a settlement.
- Bring a motion: As mentioned above, you must file a motion and schedule a hearing date to get the court involved in your matter. The judge will then be able to schedule subsequent proceedings, such as the Pretrial Conference.
- Submit a motion under Rule 16 of the Domestic Relations Procedure to have the court order the parties and their lawyers to a settlement conference.