Quickie Divorces

Going through a divorce proceeding is usually an agonising experience for a couple, and even for the person who has filed it. This emotional pain is prolonged most of the times due to a lengthy divorce process. Quickie divorces, as the name suggests, is a fast way of getting a divorce so that you can carry on with your life.

The Process Involved

There are two kinds of divorce proceedings: contested and uncontested. A contested divorce involves a lot of complications with the couple finding difficulty in reaching common terms. It might take years to settle these kinds of divorce proceedings. In the second type, the decision to divorce and the conditions surrounding it are not challenged by the spouse. Quickie divorces are possible only in the case of an uncontested divorce.

When a person files for divorce in the court of law, the court serves the petition to the spouse. When the divorce is uncontested, the judge takes a look at the grounds for divorce, financial arrangement between the couple and information pertaining to the child custody. If the judge is contented with all the legal papers and arrangements, he grants 'the Decree Nisi'. After six weeks and one day of receiving this, the couple can apply for ‘The Decree Absolute’, which is the final stage of dissolution of the marriage. Although in some cases, like the one of Gary Lineker mentioned above where a quickie divorce is granted within seconds, it normally would take at least two months for a quickie divorce to come through.

Facilitating a Quickie Divorce

Here are a few things that need to be remembered while trying for a quickie divorce. These will help you avoid common mistakes while applying for a divorce which would otherwise lengthen the process.

• Proactive: The couple needs to be proactive and draw up a prenuptial agreement even before the marriage. These will help them reach an amicable solution at the earliest in the case of a divorce.
• Grounds for Divorce: While stating the reason for a divorce, do not go into details and sound very offensive towards your spouse. This might pave the way for contested divorce and might cause delay.
• Settlement: Reach a reasonable settlement and make it final. Any change in the same after the judge has reviewed them, would make the process time-consuming. The same applies to the case of child custody also.
• Avoiding Mistakes: Get professional help while filling out the forms correctly. After you have submitted the papers in the court, if mistakes are found, you would be required to start all over again.

There have been cases where the court has provided quickie divorce to people suffering from fatal illness, so that they could marry the person whom they wish to, before their death.

Pros and Cons

Quickie divorce has both positives and negatives owing to which it is welcomed by some and criticised by others. Following is an analysis of the pros and cons of having a quickie divorce:

Pros

Here are some of the advantages of having a Quickie divorce:

• It helps in providing a faster relief from the pain owing to divorce and helps the couple move on with their lives.
• It saves a lot of time which otherwise could be a hindrance to your professional lives.
• If not for quickie divorce, the uncertainty of the proceedings would also cause stress upon everyone including the children.

Cons

There are a lot of people who oppose the idea of a quickie divorce due to one or more of the following reasons:

• Speeding up the process of divorce lessens the probability of reconciliation between the couple.
• A couple might apply and get a divorce in a fit of rage. The reduced time and effort might make people opt for divorce instead of making efforts to work the differences out.

Quickie divorce can prove useful to a couple whose marriage has broken down irrevocably. Getting it done online would further simplify the process. However, making this decision while in a confusion can only make them regret their decision in the future. But, ultimately, it is up to the couple to choose wisely and live happily.