Some attorneys refer to January as “Divorce month”.
Many people wait to file for divorce until after the holidays have passed. They want to avoid questions and drama at family gatherings and may want to enjoy one more holiday before they file for divorce. If you’re planning on filing for divorce after the holidays, there are things that you can do now to have everything ready to file so that the process is less overwhelming in January. We can set up a free consultation, advise you on steps you can take pre-filing to protect your rights, and prepare all of the necessary documents to file, so that everything is ready to file when you determine the time is right.
It’s important to know that in Wayne County, new filings are being processed in an untimely manner because of staffing shortages. The clerk’s office used to process filings the same day that they were filed. Now, the clerk’s office is currently working on filings that were filed in mid-September (approximately 7.5 week delay). If this rate continues, a January filing may not be opened and processed until March. This means that the statutory waiting period for a judgment to be entered is also delayed. A person may want to file now if they were planning to do so right after the holiday season. If the filing is incomplete, the clerk’s office will reject the filing and the person will need to refile and wait in the backlog again. It is especially important right now to speak with a knowledgeable Wayne County family law attorney to make sure that the filing is complete the first time it is submitted. Click here to set up a free consult today.