In a large majority of cases, couples opt to do an uncontested divorce.

Most people who are about to get divorced realize-once they’ve done some research-and provided they are willing to agree on how to divide their property and debts, and deal with issues related to their children, if any, realize they are better off with a Las Vegas divorce lawyer who won’t lead them right into a divorce trial at great expense.

What Type of Uncontested Divorce Lawyer Do You Need?

Many Las Vegas lawyers will not even consider taking on an uncontested divorce because of the amount of time involved – up to 20 hours, especially if divorce mediation is involved. Your choices will be limited.

1. There is the type of uncontested divorce lawyer who simply types up the paperwork however you tell them to do so and files them at court, which might not always be to your benefit.
2. Then, there is the type of uncontested divorce lawyer who will encourage you to go through divorce mediation if he or she detects uncertainty or unfairness in your wishes, especially after a long-term marriage with assets, substantial or not. And also if you are unsure how to manage child physical custody.

This is the best type of uncontested divorce lawyer to retain.

This second type of divorce lawyer most likely has many years of experience and expertise in the field of family law, and is well respected by his peers.

Look for someone with a good public reputation with no complaints against him or her with the Nevada State Bar. If Las Vegas lawyer has been practicing here for many years and has no complaints filed against him or her, it’s a good sign that they run their legal practice ethically.

This type of divorce lawyer will treat your case as unique no matter how simple it might to you, because, despite similarities, every divorce is different. This type of uncontested divorce lawyer can also tell you if hiring them would be financially beneficial to you or not after they’ve reviewed all the facts surrounding your case.

How Will an Experienced Lawyer File your Uncontested Divorce?

1. A joint petition divorce might be filed if both parties are willing to sign the divorce paperwork. This is the fastest, simplest way to file. If you opt to undergo divorce mediation first, it will take a little longer, but usually not that much longer; the extra week or so is well worth it so you can feel at peace about how the division of assets was decided.
2. A Complaint for Divorce might be filed if one party cannot participate in so far as signing the paperwork before filing, or cannot sign at all. For instance, a deeply religious person whose religion doesn’t approve of divorce might not contest the divorce, but might also not want to sign divorce paperwork.

In the end, both ways of filing get the same result: a final decree of divorce.

How Long Will it Take to get my Uncontested Divorce in Las Vegas?

A joint petition is much faster, essentially because both parties have signed the paperwork along with the attorney. This signals to the judge that they agree on property and debt division, and on any issues related to the children.

If a complaint for divorce is filed instead, it will take longer because only the plaintiff and the divorce lawyer sign the paperwork before it is filed. Filing this way requires that the Defendant (the spouse who did not sign the paperwork) be found and served with the complaint and the summons by a process server. Once they’ve been served, they have 21 days to respond by filing a answer and counterclaim. If they do not, the divorce proceeds by a process of default. This essentially means the defendant does not object to the divorce because they did not file a response. It is rare for mediation to take place before a complaint for divorce is filed.

If the Defendant files an answer and counterclaim, the divorce is now considered to be contested. There will now likely be additional attorney fees as there will be a lot more work involved for your divorce lawyer. He or she now takes off the hat of an uncontested divorce lawyer and acts as a litigator of the divorce.

It may well turn out to be costly both financially and emotionally. Interestingly, the first thing Family Court in Las Vegas will do (and anywhere else in Nevada) is set a case management conference. This is essentially a mandatory divorce mediation before any divorce trial date can be set.

If you retained an experienced uncontested divorce lawyer, he or she will be well-versed in mediation, and some are even court arbitrators. This type of lawyer will always do his or her best to mediate the points on which the parties don’t agree so a divorce trial can be avoided.

How Do I Choose the Best Divorce Lawyer for my Uncontested Divorce in Las Vegas?

Find a lawyer who advertises as one who handles uncontested divorces. This means he or she has represented many parties in their uncontested divorces, and will know all the best ways to go about it.

Also, that lawyer is likely to have a good amount of experience with divorce mediation (in the event it’s needed in your case), and some will even be court arbitrators so they are well-versed in leading both parties toward resolution rather than right into divorce court.

If you are looking for information on an uncontested divorce in Las Vegas, please visit our web site, https://NevadaDivorce.org, or call us at 702-680-1780 for a free consultation on whether an uncontested divorce is the best solution for you.

What influences how long it takes to get a divorce in Nevada the most is whether both parties sign the divorce papers.

If both parties sign the documents, it takes less time than if only one party signs them. See below for details on both ways of filing a divorce in Nevada and how long each takes to finalize.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A DIVORCE IN NEVADA WHEN BOTH PARTIES AGREE?

When both parties agree on all issues, the divorce is usually filed in the form of a joint petition for divorce. Below are the items on which the parties need to agree to proceed with a joint petition:

• child physical custody
• child visitation
• alimony, if any
• property and debts

In  a joint petition divorce, the attorney represents both parties in a joint capacity, though the parties can each bring their own attorney to the table and still file a joint petition divorce once all the issues have been decided and agreed upon. 

Both parties must sign the joint petition for divorce and the decree of divorce for this type of divorce. It cannot be filed with only the signature of one party to the divorce.

Generally, it takes one to four weeks for a joint petition divorce to be granted in Clark County, Nevada when both parties sign the papers.

How busy the court happens to be when your case is filed affects this timeline, as well as how busy your judge is at the time they are assigned the case.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A DIVORCE IN NEVADA WHEN ONLY ONE PARTY SIGNS?

When only one party signs the divorce papers, he or she becomes the Plaintiff.  In this case, an attorney represents the Plaintiff  and files a complaint for divorce.  The attorney also signs the divorce papers, files the case on behalf of the Plaintiff, and handles all aspects of the case.  Usually, a different attorney will represent the Defendant and file an answer and couterclaim on behalf of the Defendant. 

How long it takes to get a divorce in Nevada when a complaint is file depends on how easy or complicated it is to find and serve the Defendant.

Filing a complaint for divorce entails the following three steps:

• Filing the complaint for divorce
• Having a summons issued
• Serving the complaint and summons upon the Defendant through a process server

How process service is conducted affects the length of time it takes to get the divorce.

PERSONAL SERVICE:

If you know where the Defendant lives and or works, and if they can be served personally (or any other person over the age of 14 at that same address is available to be served instead), it will expedite the process.

What eats up time is the fact that after Defendant is served, there is a 21-calendar-days waiting period before the divorce can move forward. This is to give an opportunity to the Defendant to file an answer.

If the Defendant does not file an answer and counterclaim, it takes approximately eight to twelve weeks to finalize the divorce when the Defendant is served personally.

SERVICE BY PUBLICATION OR ALTERNATIVE MEANS

If Defendant is not available for personal service—you don’t know where they live, and they can’t be found by a process server or investigator—the length of time to get a divorce depends on what the process server finds when they start looking for the Defendant.

If no address is found for the Defendant, the process server provides the attorney with an affidavit of due diligence, which states everything the process server has done to find the Defendant.

This affidavit is filed and presented to the judge, essentially asking permission to publish the summons. If granted, the summons is published once a week for five weeks. And nothing happens for at least 21 days after the last date of publication to give Defendant an opportunity to file an answer should they see the published summons.

If Defendant is served by publication, it takes 16-18 weeks to get to the point where judge makes a decision on the divorce,  provided Defendant does not file an answer.  What can hold this up longer is if the process server finds several addresses for the Defendant. By law, an attempt has to be made to serve the Defendant at those addresses before publication can take place.

Sometimes, at this stage, instead of publication, the judge will ask that Defendant be served by alternative means, meaning by social media if they have an active social media presence, or by email.

If service occurs through alternative means, it takes about the same amount of time to obtain a divorce as when the Defendant is served in person. After alternative service, there is also a 21-day waiting period after the date of service before the process can move forward. This is, of course, provided Defendant does not file an answer and counterclaim.

When a complaint for divorce is filed, and Defendant files an answer and counterclaim, how long it takes to get a divorce in Nevada is affected by whether the issues are resolved at the case management conference or whether they move on to trial. It can take many months and even more than a year if there are multiple court appearances.

Other things of importance before a divorce is filed in Nevada:

• At least one of the parties to the divorce must be a current Nevada resident

This means having lived in Nevada for six consecutive weeks before the filing of the divorce. The divorce papers also state that the resident filer has the intent to remain in Nevada after the divorce is filed and granted.

• If you have minor children, to address issues such as physical custody and visitation, the children must have lived in Nevada for a minimum of six months.

If you have questions about the process, please call our office at 702-680-1780. It’s a free consultation to find out everything that needs to be done to get your divorce granted.