Waiting Period For Divorce Now One Full Year? Santa Clarita Divorce
Don’t panic. At least not yet. The waiting period for getting divorced in California is still 6 months. But states such as Washington are working on passing legislation that would increase their current 90 day waiting period, to a full year.
The legislation is known as Senate Bill 5614 and dubbed the “Family Second Chances Act”.
Senator Benton has sponsored the bill and cites several reasons for increasing the waiting period for divorce. He says that “divorce causes poverty, juvenile delinquency and lower scholastic achievement among children of their state.”
I am all for families staying together, but how much government involvement should there be when it comes to families and divorce. While I understand the reasoning, I personally don’t think that a State should be able to have this much control.
Perhaps they should take baby steps and move their current 90 day waiting period to 6 months as it is in California. I have been helping people get divorced in California for quite a while and can tell you that the 6 month waiting period is just about right.
The reason I say this is because even if the time was shorter, it is doubtful that many divorce cases would finish in a shorter amount of time due the the backlog of cases at the courts. As it stands now, it is taking 3 months just to have your final judgment approved. This is after you have completed all the other paperwork.
What is your take on how much involvement the Government should have over your decision to get divorced? Do you think there should be a waiting period at all?
While we are on the topic of the waiting period, I want to clear up a frequently asked question. Some folks have asked me if they have to wait 6 months before starting their divorce or if they have to file and then wait. You can start your divorce and even complete all the paperwork and submit it to the court. The effective date of the divorce will be 6 months after the time you or your spouse was served the initial divorce papers.