How long does it take to get divorced?

The shortest amount of time it will take to get a dissolution is 90 days from the date you serve the Petition for Dissolution on your spouse. This is a minimum period and is intended to allow time for reconciliation between parties. If you and your spouse cannot agree about important issues, then the 90-day "waiting period" will probably not be sufficient to resolve the issues in dispute.

At that point the length of time to get a final Decree depends on a variety of factors. The length of time can depend on how complex your legal divorce is and the number of issues in dispute. Other factors include whether the lawyers involved are particularly aggressive and litigious, the reasonableness of each parties legal position, and, in more complex dissolutions, the additional time to determine, through "discovery," (discussed below) the fair market value of each item of community and separate property and any claims on it. Indeed, Discovery procedures may take a great deal of time, and this is done in an effort to represent your interests properly.

If settlement cannot be reached, whether through voluntary settlement, mediation, or arbitration, and you do go to trial, it takes a bit over a year to get to trial once you file you Petition in King County.