Tips to Speed Up Your Divorce
Divorce cases are notorious for many reasons, not least of which is because they have the reputation for dragging on for far too long. Parties to a divorce are always eager to be done with the process and be able to move on with their lives. Although it is not possible to make a divorce happen overnight, there are some steps you can take to speed up your divorce. The best way to approach this is often to determine what is truly slowing your case down.
In many situations, it may be because your soon-to-be-former spouse is making unreasonable demands. When one spouse feels particularly angry or resentful, it is not uncommon for him or her to make absurd custody or support demands in an attempt to “punish” the other spouse. This may also take the form of your spouse instructing his or her attorney to file repetitive or frivolous motions. In California, you can file for sanctions against your spouse in the form of attorney’s fees. Under California Family Code 271 , you may request that you are awarded a portion of your attorney’s fees because your spouse is acting unreasonably or in bad faith. This type of motion may be a good tool to help your spouse tone down unreasonable behavior and start being more cooperative.
It is also possible that you may actually be the obstacle to getting the divorce. If you have unreasonable expectations, you may be making demands or maintaining goals that are unrealistic and therefore preventing you from reaching a settlement with your spouse quicker. One way to resolve this is to communicate openly with your attorney about what is and what is not likely to happen. Your attorney should have strong experience with local judges and courts and, while no attorney can truly guarantee what outcome will result in your case, your attorney can probably provide you with a solid idea of whether your expectations are likely to match up with the actual outcome if you had to go to a contested trial.
Finally, consider whether it is your attorney that may be slowing down your case. If your attorney seems unable to move your case forward despite a long time elapsing, it could be that your attorney has too large of a case load, making it impossible for him or her to devote the individual attention your case requires. If this happens to you and communicating with your lawyer about the timeline you expect does not yield results, it may be time to retain a new lawyer.
We have extensive experience helping our clients achieve their goals in a timely manner. Call us today at 619-800-0384 for an appointment so we can discuss your divorce and what we can do to help move your case forward.