Uncontested divorces involve filing a joint complaint as well as a full separation agreement and are by far the fastest way to obtain a divorce. A contested case involves one party filing for divorce and submitting the complaint to the other party. If you have decided to end your marriage, you may choose to file for divorce. You can file for divorce in Massachusetts if you have lived in the state for a year, or if the reason why the marriage ended occurred in Massachusetts and you have lived in Massachusetts as a couple.
You can find information here on how to file for divorce, what are the types of divorce, how to get a copy of your divorce record and more. An uncontested divorce will be finalized within 90 to 120 days. If there is a separation agreement involved, the deadline is closer to 120 days. There are simplified divorce procedures for people who fully agree and can apply to you.
That's why it's important to talk about this with a lawyer. The Massachusetts Probate and Family Court has issued a standing order that estimates the duration of a contested divorce to be 14 months. However, this process may still take longer, depending on what disputes are involved with a divorce and how busy the court system is. There is a Probate and Family Court in every county in Massachusetts.
You can file for divorce in the Probate and Family Court in the county where you live or in the Probate and Family Court in the county where your spouse lives. However, if your spouse still lives in the county where you last lived together, you must file for divorce in the Probate and Family Court in that county. In Massachusetts, you can choose to use divorce mediation instead of a court hearing to end your marriage. Mediation is completely voluntary and the mediator's decision is not binding.
However, it's a good way to create a separation agreement that can then be used to file a “1A” divorce without a lawyer. After the trial, if the court grants you a divorce, it will issue what is called the Nisi Divorce Decree. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn't just mean that you and your spouse are going to settle your divorce “collaboratively”. Couples going through a contested divorce could speed up the process with a state conference with the judge or a pre-trial conference.
So, for your particular case, you should also get answers to your questions through other sources, such as a family law attorney, your county court, friends and family who have been through a divorce, and online resources to help you deal with the financial, social, and emotional challenges that will you face on the road. It is recommended that you choose a no-fault divorce, unless you have strong evidence of any grounds for fault and prevailing yields considerable advantages for you. You may not know who to call, where to get advice, or wonder if you can get a divorce without the help of a lawyer. If either of these things is true, you can file for divorce in Massachusetts, even if your spouse lives in another state or doesn't know where you live.
For contested divorces, hiring a lawyer means having the necessary protection when two parties disagree about their separation. Massachusetts does not have an official form for the settlement, but many online divorce services will provide you with this document, based on the information you provided. When someone files for divorce in Massachusetts because of irreconcilable differences, the defendant cannot object to the divorce. You may receive a separate court order that makes your name change official or that your name change is recorded in the final divorce decree.
If both parties reach an agreement during the six-month waiting period, the divorce can be changed to uncontested so that the hearing process can be established without going through the entire six-month period. If the Court finds that the person filing for divorce moved to the Commonwealth to obtain a divorce and has lived here for less than a year, the court will not divorce. Once the parties' agreement and joint petition for divorce are filed with the court, the parties will receive a hearing date. The first thing you need to understand before choosing to divorce without the advice of a lawyer is the types of divorce available to you in Massachusetts.
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