The quickest you can get a divorce in Wyoming is in twenty one days. We have done it that fast a few times, but it is not that easy to pull off. Whether or not you can get a quick divorce depends on you and your spouse.
Twenty day waiting period
Under Wyoming law, a Court cannot enter a Decree of Divorce less than twenty days after the Complaint for Divorce is filed. This kind of a cooling off period, to allow people to reflect on their decision to divorce.
It is apparently useful, because sometimes people do decide to cancel their divorce. The spouses might have a big fight, where both decide that they want a divorce. The divorce is filed, and then a week or two later, the couple makes up and decides to remain married.
It is also useful to prevent people from making hasty decisions regarding property settlement. For instance, one of the parties cheats on the other. The cheating spouse might feel guilty, and as a sort of penance, agree to give more than a fair share of the marital property to the other.
Key to a Quick Divorce
The key to a quick divorce is cooperation between the Parties. You might not get along all that well with your spouse, but if you can cooperate this one last time, then you can get yourself a quick divorce.
Quick Divorce with No Children
It is much easier to get divorced if you have no children. However, you still need to gather the required information quickly, so it can be included in the Decree.
In addition to gathering information, you should discuss who gets which assets and which debts. Once this is decided, then it can be inserted into the Stipulated Decree, along with the identification information for the assets and the debts.
Both Parties will then sign the Stipulated Decree in front of the Notary, and then we will submit it to the Court, along with the Affidavit for Divorce. If all this is done before the twenty days are up, then the Judge will usually sign it on the twenty first day.
Quick Divorce with Children
Getting a quick divorce with children is more difficult. There are more things that you have to agree on. There is also a lot more paperwork that has to be prepared and submitted to the Court.
Initially, you need to reach agreement on custody, or where the kids will live. Then the visitation terms need to be laid out. Finally, the child support amount has to be calculated.
The child support cannot be calculated without a review of you and your spouse’s net incomes. This is best done by reviewing the last two years’ tax returns and W-2’s, and the most recent pay stubs. These documents are also needed to complete the Confidential Financial Affidavit. Filing a CFA is required by law. Most Judges will not grant a divorce in a case with minor children until that CFA has been filed by both Parties.
In addition to the CFA, we will need to submit a Confidential Information Statement, and an Income Withholding Order.
Of course you still have to agree on the division of assets and debts.
Conclusion
As you can see, getting a quick divorce depends on the spouses working together to gather all of the necessary information to enable us to draft the required documents. It will also require the two of you to agree quite a few things, and even more things if you have children.
The good news is that if you can pull off a quick divorce, you will also be getting yourself a cheap divorce.
If you are ready to get yourself a quick divorce, then take the next step and contact us by calling 307-459-6468.
By Steve Harton
Steve is a family law attorney in Rock Springs, Wyoming.