Many factors affect the length of time it takes for a divorce to become final. Some matters are concluded in a few months; others take much longer. Sometimes mediation of one or more issues can expedite a case. The extent and type of assets subject to distribution may determine how soon you will be divorced, as well as how crowded the court calendars are and how cooperative both parties are. In most cases your divorce will occur shortly after you and your spouse reach an agreement.

Your assistance in providing documents, cooperating with discovery, and responding promptly to your attorney's requests concerning motions and certifications filed by the other party, will avoid delays and speed settlement. If a settlement is reached, the case proceeds as uncontested, and the court promptly assigns a hearing date. At that time, the court grants a divorce to the parties and incorporates the agreement into a judgment if it determines that you both reached the agreement voluntarily.

David Wildstein, Esq. has been practicing matrimonial law for more than 30 years. He heads the 12-member family-law department of Wilentz Goldman Spitzer P.A. in Woodbridge, NJ and New York City. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America. He can be reached at (732) 855-6010. View his Divorce Magazine profile.