Basic legal requirements for a divorce

A lot of people seem to think that getting a divorce is just as easy as getting married. Sure, you can get a fake Elvis in Las Vegas to marry you or pay less than $100 and wait a couple of days for your initial paperwork to make the wedding legitimate. Unfortunately, divorce doesn’t work as fast. Divorce lawyer Shane Kersh explains that there are several basic legal requirements necessary for a divorce. Here are examples of divorce requirements followed by most states.

First, there is the issue of residency. A person filing for a divorce must, for a certain amount of time, be a resident of the state with jurisdiction of the case. For most state requirements, that period is six months. On the county level, three months of residency is needed. It is also required that the couple should be living separately at the filing of the divorce papers.

Divorce papers also have a waiting period from the filing of the paperwork. This makes it impossible to file for and have a divorce in the same day. While the average waiting period is about six months, it can be processed faster or slower, depending on the court. According to Shane Kersh, this period also gives those who are applying for a divorce ample time to prepare for the next steps of the process. This may include preparing for a defense if it’s a contested divorce, or talking things through with your spouse if you want to avoid a drawn-out trial that can equally deplete your funds.

Shane Kersh is a family law attorney and mediator at Kersh Law Firm based in Houston, Texas. He obtained his BA in History from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and his Juris Doctor degree from South Texas College of Law. For more information about Mr. Kersh and his practice, visit this webpage.