The Waiting is the Hardest Part: How Long Does it Take to Get a Divorce?
By: Melissa Towsey, Esquire
The answer is that it depends. A divorce based on mutual consent under Section 3301(c) of the Divorce Code, meaning both parties agree to moving forward with the divorce process, could happen in five (5) or six (6) months. Section 3301(d) of the Divorce Code allows for the court to grant a divorce based on a two year separation. The law requires a three (3) month waiting period between service of the divorce complaint and filing certain court papers to finalize the divorce under Section 3301(c). Absent the mutual consent of the parties, however, neither party can begin to move the divorce forward until the parties have been separated for two (2) years under Section 3301(d). A contested divorce, where property and equitable distribution are at issue and the parties do not agree, may take two to three years, and sometimes, in particularly complex cases, even longer. Every case is unique and has many different issues that determine how quickly a resolution can be reached.
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