Ask any divorce lawyer: The only people who control how long a divorce takes are the two parties going through the divorce.
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Alan Feigenbaum, a divorce lawyer in New York City, has seen divorce proceedings drag out over the division of valuable art collections. But things can become absurd, he said, when negotiations are dragged out over property that isn’t even particularly valuable.
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Mr. Feigenbaum said some of his proceedings had taken up to six years to complete, and all of them were heavily focused on finances, with one of them concerning disputes over homes.
“If it’s a situation where someone is like, Look, I want to be in this home with our kids until the youngest turns 18 because I don’t want the kids to have to go through yet another transition, I get that,” he said. “Where I’ve seen it drag out is if you’re using the house as a means to channel your anger against your spouse.”
He said that as a lawyer, his greatest value is in having the emotional capacity to ensure that his clients complete their divorce without having their mental health destroyed in the process. “I think it behooves the divorce lawyer to consider what is best for your client, not just financially but also emotionally,” he said.
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"You Don’t Need a French Vineyard to Have a Prolonged Divorce Proceeding," by Gina Cherelus was published in the New York Times on July 25, 2024.