On average, a divorce takes six months to a year. Exactly how long a divorce your divorce will take depends on the specifics of your case. The fastest divorce is one where both sides agree on most or all divorce topics. If a divorce is contested, it will take longer.
If both parties are cooperative and there are no major issues, a divorce can be completed in as little as 4-6 months. However, the majority of cases are more complex and contain disagreements. In Wisconsin, the timeline of a divorce varies depending on the specifics of your situation.
Here are the main factors that can make a divorce take longer:
Then, outside of the key factors, the timeline also depends on smaller things like the county’s court schedule and how quickly the necessary documents are filed. For the best understanding of what your timeline would look like, contact Divergent Family Law to speak with an attorney.
The first thing to look at is whether a divorce is contested or uncontested. In an uncontested divorce, both parties agree on most or all the divorce topics, things like property division, alimony, child support, and child custody. Then, in a contested divorce, they disagree on several divorce topics. This disagreement causes a lot of back-and-forth negotiations and can ultimately end in a trial.
For uncontested divorces, there may be some disagreements along the way but both parties agree on the major issues, so the process can move relatively quickly. The divorce can usually be finalized relatively quickly after the 120-day waiting period, provided the paperwork is in order and the court can schedule a hearing soon after.
In contested divorces, however, the process can take significantly longer. Delays occur when there are disputes in general, and they can come from anything really. Parties may disagree over child custody, financial matters, or property division, and there are several subsets of issues under each of those big three headings. Contested divorces can easily extend to 12 months or more, especially if additional evaluations, investigations, or appraisals are necessary.
Parties have up to 90 days to prepare their financial disclosure statements unless the court orders otherwise. This step is crucial, as exchanging financial information lays the groundwork for negotiations on property division and spousal or child support. If one party is slow in providing financial documents, it can cause delays, making it difficult to move through the divorce efficiently.
In more contentious cases, disagreements can drag out the process. For example, if child custody issues can’t be resolved through mediation, a guardian ad litem may be assigned. Further delays might occur if one party challenges the recommendations of the guardian ad litem, requiring additional steps like a Family Court Services study, which can take months to schedule, then an additional four or so months to complete.
If no agreement can be reached, the case may proceed to trial. Before that, the court often requires financial mediation to resolve any remaining issues. If mediation fails, it can take weeks or even months to schedule a final pre-trial conference and secure a trial date, depending on the court’s availability. Half-day trials may be scheduled sooner, but complex, multi-day trials significantly push out the timeline.
It is important to note that parties can, and often do, reach partial agreements. Partial agreements may come in many different forms, and some are far more in depth than others. Regardless, anything that can be agreed on will help limit the contested issues to cover in a trial, and this could save everyone time and money.
Ultimately, the length of a Wisconsin divorce depends on how well the parties are willing to work together. In cases where both parties are cooperative, even a complex divorce can be finalized within a few months. On the other hand, a relatively simple case can drag on if one party is uncooperative or deliberately delays the process.
This is why it is so important to be realistic with your expectations and reasonable in negotiations. Generally speaking, attorneys want what you want: to get to the other side of this and set you up for success as quickly as possible. That is not always the other party’s goal though.
Before a divorce can be filed, the person filing must have established residency in the state and county they choose to file in. To file in Wisconsin, the person filing must have lived in the state for at least 6 months and lived in the county for at least 30 days. These rules establish jurisdiction which is what allows the court to make rulings on your case.
Then, once a divorce is filed, and the other party is served, there is a 120-day waiting period. This is the mandatory minimum waiting period in Wisconsin. That clock starts either when the other party is filed or when the divorce is filed if it is filed jointly. During the waiting period, the divorce cannot be finalized. This gives both parties time to exchange necessary financial information, proposals, and hopefully to resolve any disagreements they may have.
The fastest you can get divorced in Wisconsin is just over 120 days after serving the initial pleadings. This can only happen when all documents are in order, and there are no significant disagreements.
