What's the record time for a divorce?
 

I'm curious. I've got a cousin who's been in and out of courts on a divorce case for about ten years now. I don't remember when it started exactly, but she and the ex-husband have been siccing lawyers on each other for about a decade. They've got two kids who were in early grade school or preschool when it started, and the oldest is about to start driving now. The latest drama is that the ex didn't return them from summer visitation and is now apparently trying to hide them.

The whole thing is so far beyond ridiculous that I can only shake my head in disbelief. I don't ever see this cousin, but I wonder how screwed up her kids are going to be as adults since they've spent virtually their entire lives in this domestic battlefield.

How long do most divorce fights last, anyway? Anyone else ever seen or had one drag out this long?

Mine lasted a year.

you're Right, the kids are going to be jacked up later on..

custody battles are a bitch and almost always favor the mother.

10 years? Holy shit.

My divorce took 37 days.

And 30 of that was the required waiting period.

Mine was really, really simple. We agreed on most everything, and used the same lawyer.

We didn't own much, anyway.. and all I wanted was my two sons. Got 'em, too.

Sounds like mine, minus the kids.

We sat down and divided everything up. Not a single fight about anything.

This whole thing just boggles me. My cousin is nice and very family oriented, and the ex-husband (who I coincidentally knew before he met my cousin) is kind of a jerk, but overall a pretty bright guy. It seems like at some point they would embrace reason and do what's best for the kids, but they seem to prefer destroying each other more. Frankly, I wouldn't be overly surprised if someone doesn't end up dead at some point. They're like Palestinians or something.

They must be pretty wealthy, because after a year or two of attorney fees, I'd be ready to settle.

The divorce itself was probably final long ago, but the parties can continue to fight about stuff regarding the kids until the youngest turns 18. It'll probably only take 20 years of therapy to fix the damage they're inflicting now.

I fixed that for you. :thumb:

Mine took 2 1/2 months from the day I filed. I could have had it done about 3 weeks earlier, but I had to wait to take some divorce class mandated by the state. The whole thing cost less than 200 dollars.

I had one took 48 days. My Father's 2nd divorce took 7 years I think; he had a ton of assets though, and cash - he got hammered.

My boss is running up on 8 years now. My best friend told me that his parents took around 10. He said each one of them could have put him through college and bought him a car for what they spent on the divorce.

All reason why not to get married. I almost had to get married one time to get out of a housing contract. Then we were going to get divorced the next day. Amazing how getting divorced, just the basic paperwork of it, even if there are no lawyers and legal battles is still about 20 times more than the marriage itself.