What to Expect in Divorce?

Going through a divorce is emotionally and financially draining, so anyone who thinks of untying the knot should be prepared.

Even though you can defend yourself in front of the courts without any legal representation, it is actually not advised to do so unless you know the laws of the land. For this matter, you will need a divorce attorney to help you win the case.

Going through a divorce affects many aspects of a person’s life. It can affect their work output, their relationships with friend and family, among other things. This is further compounded by the fact that divorce proceedings can take a lot of months or even years!

As to how long the divorce will take, that will depend on a number of factors, including the type of petition that was filed.

Joint or Single?

An uncontested joint petition is a divorce petition that was filed with the notion that both parties have agreed to it, as well as other factors pertaining to their marriage such as child custody, child maintenance, the division of assets and properties, etc.

This is probably the simplest and easiest one to win, simply because both parties agree for this to happen. A joint divorce may last anywhere between three to six months and in the good news is that either party would only have to go to court once or twice.

Conversely, if only one party wants to file for a divorce, then this is known as the single petition. This is arguably the worst type of divorce simply because it can last for a couple of years (again, depending on a number of factors).

This can certainly drain you financially, so you have to be prepared for whenever you want to untie the knot with your partner.

Now, if you are to file for a single petition divorce, you will have to let your employer know beforehand that you are facing such a predicament. This is because you are going to be summoned multiple times in court and you will have to defend yourself (with a legal representative, hopefully) until you win the case.

Notifying your employer that you are under such conditions will allow them to give you a more flexible work schedule. This is quite important since your schedules are going to change, especially if we are talking about juggling childcare, visitation, and work.

Spousal Maintenance

In some countries, the husband is required to provide what is known as spousal maintenance over the course of the proceedings. Remember that a single petition divorce can last up to so many years, which will render the wife to have problems with the finances.

Be Ready

If you are going through a divorce, then you have to be ready and remind yourself that this battle is not going to be easy. It can drain you emotionally and financially and a lot of things are going to change in your life.

I hope that if you push through with this that you are mentally and physically prepared to do so.