How Long After The Judgment Will It Take Me To Receive My Final Divorce Decree?

A divorce is final when the court signs the divorce decree, which is sent to your attorney who then sends you a copy. This process involves multiple steps, starting with an initial divorce filing and ending with either an amicable agreement or a court-ordered judgment. The time frame for getting a copy of your judgment depends on the rules of the state in which the divorce took place and how quickly the attorneys can get a proposed final. A party has thirty days after the filing of the Final Decree to ask the judge to make changes or to appeal the judge’s ruling to a higher court.

To start the divorce legal process, one spouse gets a lawyer. After a hearing, the judge in your case will take some time, typically a week or two, to review the facts of the case and issue a divorce decree. Your attorney should follow these steps to get the final decree approved: fill out the forms, file the forms, and file the completed divorce decree.

A divorce is not final until you have signed your divorce decree, sometimes called a “divorce judgment” or “judgment for dissolution of marriage”. Parties may seek to modify a portion of their final divorce order months or even years after a divorce. Judges typically sign the decree within a day or two, and the clerk processes it that day or the next day, so you would have it in just a couple of days.

If the court has given the final judgment for divorce and the decree is supposed to be received in 2-3 days, can an act or anything change the decree? You need to wait at least 43 days (6 weeks and 1 day) after the date of the conditional order or decree nisi before you can apply to end your marriage. The court usually holds back issuing the written judgment for a certain period of time—usually three to six months. If you do not receive the court order within four weeks, contact the court office.

Some documents, such as a typed terms of agreement, need to be given to the Final Divorce Decree. The clerk will process your paperwork and give it to a judge to review, which may take a week or even months.