One of the most common questions I get is “How long is this going to take?” People want to know how long will they be tied up in litigation, and when can they get on with their lives. Like so many things were the legal process is concerned, there are no clear answers.
There are processes where a true emergency may be heard by a court in a matter of days. Even in these cases, though, this is just an initial hearing, and it must soon be followed up within a few days with another hearing to give due process to the other party.
The most certain deadline I can give a client is when it concerns a non-contested divorce where all factors are agreed upon by the husband and wife. In such a case, the divorce may be finalized by the Court 60 days after filing the Joint Complaint for Divorce. That doesn’t mean on day 60 the divorce will be granted, though. Chancery court judges are assigned to districts which contain more than one county, and the judges rotate between counties. Some months, the judge to which the case has been assigned may not hear cases in that county. In such a situation, it may be possible to get the case heard in another county, but I think you can now understand that it is unlikely to happen exactly on day 60.
In other cases, it largely depends on how complicated the case is. Additionally, there is the court’s calendar to consider. Courts usually “overbook” trials because most settle before court. However, if you’re not the “first setting” and a trial before you goes forward, you may have to get a new trial date. Add to all of this the complication of finding a date that (at least) two attorneys have available. All of these factors work to slow down “the wheels of justice” to some degree.
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