Can you get a divorce in 90 days? In Michigan, having children might make that impossible. It is already guaranteed you cannot have it in 90 days by the 180-day waiting period alone for divorce with children. Is it feasible in Michigan if you don’t have children? Theoretically, perhaps, but improbable. It seems like a short waiting period—60 days.
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It might not be possible to obtain a divorce judgment or agreement in 90 days due to the divorce process and the contentious matters that need to be settled. You are often looking at a minimum of more than 100 days.
What Are the Two Most Important Divorce Timelines in Michigan?
The two most important timelines are actually the divorce waiting period imposed on all divorce filings. Any required waiting period begins when the divorce petition is submitted to the Circuit Court. When the divorce complaint is filed, the 60-day or six-month waiting period officially starts.
60-Day Timeline
The waiting time in Michigan is 60 days if there are no children involved in the divorce.
If the judgment is rendered in less time than sixty days, the divorce is probably void. Under Michigan law, the six-month waiting period may be waived, but the sixty-day one cannot. The six-month waiting period may be extended but never to less than sixty days in cases of “extreme hardship or such compelling necessity as shall appeal to the conscience of the court.”
The opposing party is allowed some time to respond after the complaint is filed.
Following the filing and delivery of the complaint and summons, your spouse has 21 days (or 28 days if served by mail or outside the state) to file a response of admission or denial of each allegation in the complaint.
Nearly half of your waiting period should have been passed by the time you were given to answer.
The matter becomes contested once the necessary response has been provided. The defendant’s failure to provide an answer could result in the issuance of an order of default. The case then proceeds to that of an uncontested divorce. However, a defendant who has defaulted may decide to retain legal counsel and request the court’s intervention at any time up to the case’s conclusion.
You can also factor in the amount of time spent on important procedures like discovery, agreements, and the issuing of temporary orders before the initial court appearance. The initial steps of the divorce process essentially take up the entire 60-day waiting period.
The 6 Months Timeline
If there are young children involved, there is often a six-month waiting period. There is a lot of pressure on the Michigan court system to render decisions in divorce cases within a year of the filing date. For a divorce involving children, the “normal” waiting period after the complaint is filed, or when the lawsuit officially begins, is six months. Although they can take less than a year to complete, child custody proceedings often go longer than six months.
The six-month waiting period is subject to some exclusions. According to Michigan law, a judge may waive the six-month waiting period but not the sixty-day one. In instances of “exceptional hardship or such compelling necessity as shall appeal to the conscience of the court,” the six-month waiting period may be extended, but never to fewer than sixty days.
If there is a legitimate reason and the judge is aware that the case is a collaborative divorce, most judges will actually waive the six-month waiting period. The protracted court fights that define traditional divorce litigation can be substituted with collaborative divorce. With the assistance of licensed professionals, both parties to a collaborative divorce agree to end their marriage outside of court.
As part of the collaborative law procedure, you and your spouse would go to court and request the judge ratify the agreement you two came up with together. This can protect your privacy while helping you avoid the bother, expense, and unpredictability of a divorce battle.
Why Do Courts Impose Waiting Periods in Divorce?
Michigan Compiled Laws 552.9f requires a waiting period before filing for divorce. MCL 552.9f permits divorces without young children in Michigan, but they can’t be approved until 60 days have gone since the bill of complaint was filed. According to the same law, MCL 552.9f, a divorce in Michigan involving a minor child (under the age of 18) cannot be finalized until six months have passed since the day the bill of complaint was filed.
Simply expressed, in Michigan, there is a 60-day waiting period for divorces involving no minor children and a 6-month waiting period for divorces involving minor children. Public policy urges individuals to take some time to gather their thoughts and plan ahead before finalizing a divorce and possibly patching things up for the benefit of the family.
The above is the statutory basis for waiting periods. We’ve talked about divorce timelines before in our article, “Michigan Divorce Timeline” where we mentioned the different timelines you need to consider in a divorce. In that article we listed some reasons for all that waiting period. The truth is, there are four common reasons why courts impose waiting periods:
Reason 1: Give spouses a moment for second chances.
After a heated argument, a divorce petition is often hastily and angrily filed. A waiting period allows confrontational partners to cool off and assess whether this is really what they desire.
The impending reality of separation can prompt couples to start discussing their problems in a new way once a divorce case has been filed in court. Or the divorcing spouse can leave the home and find that living alone is not what they had envisioned. During the waiting period, the couple has time to think about the possibilities of reconciliation.
Reason 2: Preparing for parenting time.
A new living situation demands a new strategy for daycare, education, and visitation. As they learn to co-parent in different homes, parents may decide it would be better to make amends and give their marriage another chance rather than to dissolve it. In the event that the parents are unable to agree, there will need to be a trial at which both parties will present their evidence and the court will make the decision of which parent will get to keep the child. A custody investigator with specialized skills may be requested by the judge to assess each parent’s ability to raise the children prior to trial.
A custody agreement’s “best interests of the child” as defined by the Child Custody Act may not be determined for several months.
Reason 3: Time for sorting financial matters and addressing concerns.
Financially, few divorcees actually fare better than they would have if they had remained married. As one family turns into two households, the couple’s expenses nearly treble from when they were cohabitating.
Due to the fact that married couples typically combine their finances, it may take some time to get all the necessary documentation, total everything, and establish how to efficiently separate one person’s obligations and assets from the other’s. Just a few examples are bank loans, credit cards, insurance policies, and investment accounts. Real estate, automobiles, and other tangible assets must all undergo an evaluation. Both partners or one of them must find new homes.
Reason 4: Preparing for the divorce settlement.
The initial divorce hearing is normally scheduled by Michigan courts at least 60 days after the divorce complaint is filed for spouses without children. Couples with less conflicts typically reach an understanding on the terms of their divorce prior to the initial court hearing. Once the required 60 days have passed, the divorce can then be formalized at that first hearing.
If a settlement cannot be achieved by the first court date, at least the parties have had time to define their disagreements, estimate how much additional time will be needed to negotiate a settlement, and decide whether a mediator might be required.
Can I Get a Divorce in 90 Days?
In cases involving young children, some courts will waive the final 60 days of the 180-day waiting period if the parties have reached an understanding, resolved all differences, and accelerating the divorce is in the children’s best interests.
But no part or all of the initial 60 days may be waived.
You have the full 60 days to use if you and your spouse have submitted all required paperwork and responses to the summons and there are no differences on spousal support, child custody, child support, parenting time, or property division. Typically, 100 days is a more practical estimate. Your wishful desire of 90 days is technically feasible in a perfect world, but for now, highly unlikely.
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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.