Five Ways Your Spouse Might Be Delaying Your Divorce

When a divorce is dragging on for far longer than it should, we often look to whether one spouse might have a motive for making it so. Usually, divorces that can’t be resolved in a timely fashion are caused in part by one spouse’s refusal to accept that divorce is happening and move on. In other circumstances, a spouse may be delaying the divorce in order to obtain even more money from the divorce settlement. Particularly common in high net worth divorces, an experienced Irvine divorce attorney can help you determine whether your former spouse is delaying your divorce. 

Reasons Why Your Spouse May Be Delaying Your Divorce

There are several reasons why your spouse might be delaying a divorce. The most common reason is often when one spouse simply refuses to accept that the marriage is over, and will do anything to keep it going for just a little while longer. In other instances, a spouse might be acting out of bitterness, anger and a willingness to put their spouse through months and even years of suffering to get back at them. Finally, the most likely reason your spouse might be trying to delay your divorce is because they’re playing financial games. Whether they’re fighting tooth and nail to leave you with nothing, going out of their way to hide assets or simply trying to run up your bill, your Irvine divorce attorney can help you navigate the situation and bring your divorce to a close once and for all.

Five Ways Your Spouse Could Slow the Divorce Process

While there are a variety of strategies that people use to prolog divorce, these are the five most common:

• Abusing the Discovery Process: It’s normal for both slides to ask for evidence during discovery, but when one side wants to drag the divorce on they may begin taking longer to furnish the evidence and/or may make outrageous requests that take very long to complete. 
• Asking for a Continuance: Your spouse may tell a judge that they did not have enough time to prepare for a hearing and request a new date. 
• Changing Their Mind: Oftentimes, couples will separate and make temporary arrangements regarding who gets to stay in the house, or care for the children, while the terms of the divorce are being worked out. When a spouse wants to delay a divorce, they may suddenly decide to go back on their word. 
• Making False Accusations: When a spouse really wants to cause trouble in a divorce proceeding, they will often lodge a false accusation against the other spouse in order to trigger an investigation into that allegation. This type of tactic would complicate both the divorce and any impending child custody hearing ongoing.
• Hiding Assets: When a spouse wants to complicate the divorce proceedings and ensure you don’t get a full picture of what’s at stake, they will often employ tactics like hiding assets, which would require you to file motions in order to get the information.

Speak with an Irvine Divorce Attorney Today

It’s not unusual for a spouse to delay their divorce when there is money or emotional baggage in the middle. Don’t fall victim to this dubious practice – talk to an Irvine divorce attorney at our firm for help. Contact us today.