In most cases, an amicable divorce is obtained more quickly than a contested divorce. This is one of the advantages of an amicable divorce. Once the conditions for an amicable divorce have been fulfilled and the divorce proceedings filed, it takes 3 to 6 months for the court to render a divorce judgement (in the judicial district of Montreal).
The time required to obtain an amicable divorce judgement is broken down into two parts. They are the part for the preparation of the proceeding and the part for processing the case by the Court.
The time required to prepare the application for an amicable divorce
Preparation of the application for divorce consists of several elements, and can be carried out over 4 to 6 weeks:
meeting with the spouses:
- collecting information
- discussions on the agreement
- receipt and analysis of the documents from the spouses
- necessary requests to the authorities involved (such as the RRQ)
- writing the divorce application and related documents
- meeting to sign the documents
- filing the divorce application with the Court
If the spouses are parents of minor children, a mediation process is also necessary. This process, carried out by a family mediator, may require additional time.
The time required for the court to render the amicable divorce judgement
The time required by the court to render the judgement will depend on the backlog at the court in your judicial district. In Montreal, the average time observed varies from 3 to 6 months.
Unlike a contested divorce, there cannot be any adjournments of the hearing that lengthen the time delay for obtaining a divorce.
