Once you decide to get a divorce in Mount Holly, you may feel a sense of relief or even a sense of eagerness to get the process over with. How long it will take until your divorce is finalized will depend on a number of factors. In general, splits that are amicable and where the terms are easily agreed to will take less time to resolve than those that are contentious.

In order to initiate divorce proceedings, either you or your ex must file a complaint with the court. According to the New Jersey Judiciary for Atlantic and Cape May Counties, there may be a waiting period for filing the complaint, depending on the grounds for divorce. For example, if you are citing irreconcilable differences as your grounds, the complaint can be filed six months after the start of those differences.

Once the complaint is filed with the court, it will be reviewed. If your ex does not file an answer, the complaint is considered uncontested and your divorce will likely be finalized within a few months. If not, your case will be assigned a track. If your case is particularly complicated, it will be assigned to a track for complex cases. These cases typically require a lot of involvement by the court because of the severity or number of legal issues involved and will likely take the longest amount of time to resolve. If your case involves disputes over how much parenting time each person gets or who will retain custody over your children, it will be assigned to a priority track.

If the review deems your case to be one that will involve minimal input from the court, it may be assigned to an expedited track. Examples of such cases include ones where the couple has no children and was married for less than five years, or the parties have agreed to a financial settlement and custody arrangement. If your case does not fit into any of those tracks, it will be assigned to a standard track. This should not be considered legal advice and is provided as general information on this topic.