When will my divorce be final?

Dear Gina Famularo-
I filed for divorce in 2010. I am still not divorced and now I have a wedding planned. I was told I would be divorced in six months, but I am still waiting. When will the court finally make me single? My wedding date is coming up and I really need my first marriage over as soon as possible.

Thanks for your time, Shelly.

Dear Shelly,
In order for your divorce to be final you must do all the work necessary to make it happen. A divorce is not automatic. Just because you filed paperwork with the court does not mean that the court will grant you a divorce. In order to obtain a judgment for divorce, you and your spouse must either prepare an agreement and file it with the court or have a divorce trial. My suspicion is that you simply filed divorce proceedings and did not follow through.

If you and your spouse have agreed on all the terms of your divorce, then you may simply need to prepare documents and file them with the court. If you do not have an agreement, you will likely need to obtain a lawyer and go to court.

Our office offers free consultations, you are welcome to bring your court file into our office so that we can assess what needs to be done to make your divorce final. You may also request a free copy of my book, The Secrets to Surviving Your California Divorce, which will explain the process in more detail.

God Bless You,

Gina Famularo