Much of this is determined by the Court and not the parties and lawyers on a particular case.  The complexity and nature of the issues in a case also contributes to the length of time a case may take from start to finish.  The Probate Court has recently imposed time standards, seeking to standardize divorce proceedings to a fourteen (14) month time frame, if contested from beginning to end. While these guidelines are what the court strives for, the court cannot always meet its time guidelines, and a fully contested case may take longer.  It is also very common for the process to be completed in much less time than the court’s guidelines, and the Attorneys at Schwartz and Plante work hard to not only get the best possible results for our clients, but also to do it in as speedy a time frame as possible.