In California, the fastest that a divorce can legally become effective is six months and one day after the respondent is served with the dissolution summons. The Law Offices of Duane Henry is highly trained and experienced and can complete your divorce in the minimum time permitted by law and on the most favorable terms reasonably possible for you.
Use of the experienced negotiation skills of the Law Offices of Duane Henry and/or their Divorce Mediation Services can often achieve your divorce in this minimum waiting period imposed by law and without litigation or a Court appearance.
A lot of this speed, efficiency and cost-effectiveness depends upon you and your spouse, however. To avoid delay, both parties must be prompt in providing necessary information and reasonable in negotiations or mediation.
Fighting over every lamp and withholding information will serve to slow down the process, and California divorce law is designed to reward reasonable positions and prompt disclosure and punish unreasonable behavior and delay. In one case, one spouse failed to disclose that she had won the lottery. As a punishment for this breach of the disclosure laws, the Court awarded 100% of her winnings to the other spouse.
Litigation, where one party is unreasonable, and delay in providing information, can add time and expense to the divorce process. It can also result in Court-imposed sanctions as seen above.
If litigation is necessary and justified by the other spouse’s intransigence, the Law Offices of Duane Henry is prepared to fully assert and protect your rights, taking advantage of our more than 25 years of litigation experience, training and expertise.
The Law Offices of Duane Henry serves divorce and family law clients and Divorce Mediation Services clients in all of Contra Costa County, including Alamo, Antioch, Baypoint, Blackhawk, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Crockett, Danville, Diablo, Discovery Bay, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Pittsburg, Richmond, Rossmoor, San Pablo, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek
If you have a divorce law question or a question about divorce mediation, want more information in general, or want a free initial consultation, please call the Law Offices of Duane Henry at 925-825-5010 at any time, including evenings and weekends. An attorney (not a screener) will answer your call directly or return your voicemail promptly.
