During an uncontested divorce, is there a certain amount of time the parties have to sign the divorce papers?

I think so.
But it’s best to ask your attorney here or consult your state laws.

I believe so. It depends on where you live though.

@PluckyDog & @Hibernate You both said “I think so” and “I believe so”. You believe what? There were a few different questions asked. You believe there is a certain amount of time you have to sign the paper or you believe the person is stuck waiting for the other persons signature. I’m confused!

Sorry, I was answering question that’s in bold. I meant I believe there is a certain time limit on signing the papers. If the other person won’t sign, I’m sure there are other ways to make the divorce final. The exact laws regarding divorce depends what country, state/province, etc that you live in.

Local laws are so different that asking for legal advice here is a huge mistake. Everyone is correct when they say you need to talk to a lawyer. You need to pick up the phone in the morning and make some phone calls.

Well, we certainly need a lawyer here to be sure obviously. As a real estate agent I can tell ou that our sales contracts had a date right on the contract when it needed to be signed by. Within 3 days of the effective date for instance. The effective date was not the date the first party signes, usually the buyer draws up the contract, signs everything, then presents it. The effective date is the date it is received by the seller. Depending on the contrat the 3 days is either 3 consectutive days or 3 business days (or how ever many specified).

When I lived in FL I witnessed my roommates divorce. She wanted it. I think he had signed everything, then I went with her to the courts, we met in the judges chambers. The judge looked it all over, I signed some papers as a witness, and oom they were divorced. Maybe he had a lawyer present to represent him? I don’t remember. I know FL allows for fast divorces if there are no children involved. Some states require a waiting time, 6 months from the time the couple decides to get a divorce for instance (which I find disgustng).

@JLeslie Yeah, a few years ago my brother got divorced. The wait time with that was one year – but they also have child together. Most uncontested divorces here take 3–5 months. Others may often take several years.

That’s with any divorce, once the papers are served they have a certain amount of time to respond, if they don’t respond, you can go ahead without them, which is uncontested. In NJ it’s 35 days. My ex-wife didn’t respond, so I filed for an uncontested court date and got divorced without her. It was pretty bad ass.

Those laws are different state to state in the US. You need the specific answer for your locale.

@Blackberry Once you proceeded without her, how long did the divorce take to finalize?

@ItalianPrincess1217 It was another month, because I had to wait until my actual court date to come once it was assigned to me. I went there with my necessary paperwork, the judge asked me some questions, then I was ouuutttttttt!!!!!

@Blackberry Did she have to appear in court also?

@ItalianPrincess1217 Nope, that’s the purpose of an uncontested divorce. She had her 35 days to respond, and she didn’t, so we proceeded without her.

@Blackberry I was under the impression that if one person doesn’t respond or sign the papers, it then turns into a contested divorce.

Divorce laws vary by state.

However, when Mr. Laureth divorced his ex (this is in Michigan), he had papers sent to her that said, in essence, “You can contest the divorce, or you can just let the judge do what the judge does.” Since his ex never responded, the divorce went through uncontested.

Contesting a divorce appears to be something that the objecting party must actively do, rather than something that is done by default on their behalf. However, it is important to note that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice!

@laureth I thought MI was one of those states that requires 6 months to finally get the divorceover and done with. My girlfriend kept living in the house with him under the advice of her lawyer, and it was awful.

@ItalianPrincess1217 I believe contested divorces are where people fight over property and kids before they settle the divorce.

@JLeslie – It did take six months or so from the date he filed, but you don’t necessarily have to live together in the interim. It depends on how hard you’re fighting the divorce.

@laureth My friend asked for the divorce.