The conventional advice for speeding up divorce is to agree on as many things as possible so that you only go to court to get the judge's stamp on your divorce agreement. What about if you want to divorce faster than this advice can afford you? In this case, you might have to resort to some unconventional tricks, such as:

Get To Another State

Residency requirements are one of the things that can delay your divorce; most states require you to reside within their borders for a minimum period before filing for divorce. The period can be as short as six weeks in Nevada and 12 months in Connecticut. If you want a no-fault divorce, some states may require you to separate for a period before you can file for divorce.

Depending on what is delaying your divorce, you can solve both of these problems by getting your divorce in another state with a shorter residency requirement or without a separation requirement.

Get a Summary Divorce

A summary divorce is a streamlined divorce process that bypasses most of the hoops divorcing couples usually have to go through. It limits the amount of paperwork you have to file and the court appearances you have to make. However, a summary divorce has strict requirements you have to meet. The prerequisites vary by state, but the most common ones include these four.

• You must have been married for a very short time
• The total value of your marital property must be below a designated limit.
• You must not have any children.
• Both of you must give up your rights to spousal support.

There is still a cooling off period that precedes the actual divorce. Therefore, a summary divorce may only make much sense if you were anticipating an extremely lengthy divorce without it.

File For a Dissolution Judgment

Some states may allow you to dissolve your marriage and continue with the rest of the issues (such as asset division) later. For some people, divorce isn't mainly about the division of assets and debts, but it is mostly about returning to a single status. If you belong to this school of thought, and you expect a lengthy divorce, then you should petition the court for a dissolution judgment. If the court gives in to your request, then it terminates your marital status so that you can move on.

In effect, this means you can hold out yourself to the public as a single person even if you haven't divided your assets. This move may be beneficial in some cases, for example, if you wish to get married to another person and suspect that divorcing your current partner may take several years.

Do you want a speedy divorce? Start with talking to your spouse so that you can sort out your differences outside the courtroom. Then, before trying the unconventional tricks outlined above, talk to a family lawyer like Pagel Family Law for other ways of hastening your divorce.