How Long Will My Divorce Take?

Once you’ve made the difficult decision to divorce, you may wonder just exactly how long the whole divorce process will take from start to finish. That is a good question, but one for which there is no uniform answer. Many different factors can speed up or slow down a divorce. Some of those factors are within your control and others are outside of your control. It just depends upon the individual circumstances of your case. In Tennessee, there is a minimum statutory waiting period for a divorce. The minimum waiting period is 60 days after filing for divorce if there are no minor children involved and 90 days after filing if there are minor children involved. That means that a divorce in Tennessee can never be completed quicker than 60 days from when the divorce complaint is filed, or 90 days if the couple has minor children. When both spouses mutually consent to divorce, the case can often be resolved in two to six months.

However, the average contested divorce in Tennessee usually takes a year or longer, and can sometimes last for two years or more. When a divorce is contested, the case will go through the typical litigation process of discovery and sometimes a trial.

While there is a wide variety in the length of time a divorce case will take in Tennessee, some of it is within your control. If you and your spouse can agree on many issues, the divorce will move a lot faster and you will save money. On the other hand, if issues like child custody and property division are contested, your divorce will take a lot longer, cost a lot more and may even have to go to trial. If you are considering filing for divorce, consult with an experienced Tennessee divorce attorney to help protect your rights, no matter whether you are expecting the process to go quickly with few disputes or are settling in for the long haul.