Minnesota's Family Law Blog

How To Get Divorced In 7 Days

Divorce

Updated: 1-08-2020

Is that possible? Can you really get divorced in 7 days in Minnesota? Well, the answer is…sort of. Let me explain a little, in Minnesota, we often call divorces that are settled immediately and without conflict “uncontested divorces”

I should note that this is really a misnomer, as a contested divorce technically is what happens when one spouse does not want to get divorced and you live in a “fault” state, which Minnesota is not, but we still all call them uncontested divorces. These types of uncontested divorces are fast, quick and perhaps best of all cheap! Sounds good? How can you get one of these? Well read on and you can see if you too can get divorced in 7 days.

How Do You Get One Of These Uncontested Divorces?

What usually happens in an uncontested divorce is the parties talk about getting a divorce, divide the property, come up with how they want to deal with custody and parenting time issues and then, in Minnesota reduce it to writing, which is really just a fancy way of saying a written document. This can be the hardest part because you have to be very thorough and make sure nothing is overlooked when you are dealing with holidays times, child support, dividing the retirement and bank accounts.

Once the details have been worked out, usually one of the parties hires a lawyer and give the lawyer the agreements or the notes. This can be just handwritten notes or even emails, but it helps to get some sort of written documents so everyone is on the same page. The lawyer then draws up the legal documents which sets out these agreements. Once this is done, the other spouse reviews the documents, sometimes with a divorce attorney but sometimes without one, and once the documents look good the attorney files the documents the court and will get a court date.

The next step can be a little tricky, if there are no kids involved in the divorce the judge usually reviews the documents and signs them without the need to go to court. Case over, quickly, cheaply and with little stress. However, if you have kids and there is only one attorney on the case you will probably have to go to court and appear in front of the Judge.

This is what can take some time and may delay your divorce for a month or so because the Judge’s schedule can get a bit busy and these types of cases often get a low priority.  At court the Judge will often ask questions just to make sure that everyone understands what they are agreeing too.  IMPORTANT: The Judge is not your lawyer, they rarely (if ever) inquire if the deal is fair, their job is simply to make sure the law is followed and since everyone is an adult the Judge usually won’t spend much, if any, time seeing if its a good deal or a fair deal.

Cost Of The Divorce

What do these types of divorce cost? Well, the cost can be all over the board, but I believe most of these types of divorces are from $750-$1,500 (not counting the approximately $400 filing fee which is what the Court will charge you just to file the documents). This is not a small amount of money, but compared to a typical “nasty” divorce that can be $10000-$20,000 it’s a steal.

There you go, one option if you are contemplating divorce is to talk to your spouse, settle the case then go to a lawyer and you might very well be divorced in 7 days.

Information obtained in mankatofamilylaw.com may contain knowledgable content about Minnesota Family Law that may be considered beneficial to some; however, in no way should this website or its contents be considered legal advice. Mr. Kohlmeyer is a Minnesota licensed Attorney and cannot provide legal services or guidance to those outside of Minnesota. If you wish to retain Mr. Kohlmeyer as your Attorney in your Family Law matter, contact 507-625-5000.

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Comments 11
  1. Pingback: Merrill Dubach
  2. Every thing has been divideded
    Daughter will be 18 in two weeks.
    No one wants anything other than to walk away.

    How do we get a QUICK DIVORCE?

    Michele

    Sent from my iPhone

  3. Hello, due to lack of funds I am going to try myself to file. However, when if comes to property I really dont want anything. I would like to relinquish all of it to her just to make it a fast break. Is there a way that can be worded so that the judge does not deny it because it looks “unfair”?

    Thank you

    1. Matt,

      Thanks for the comment. I would not worry about it as you’re giving the court system too much credit. In my experience it’s pretty rare that the Judge will nix any deal that you both agree to, especially in your care where you are giving her everything. Don’t worry about it, it should be approved.

  4. Do you know of any lawyers in the metro area that will just review papers that individuals have completed? What would be their cost? My spouse and I have completed all of our information and agree on everything. I would just like to have someone go over the papers to make sure we are good before it gets to a judge so there are no questions or complilcations.

    1. Diane,

      Thanks for the question. This a great, great question and I’m glad you asked. Let me answer it in the reverse order you asked it. You should have a lawyer review the documents, but not with your spouse. That way the lawyer can give you the inside scoop on if the agreement is going to pass muster with the Judge AND if it’s actually a fair/good deal.

      Next, I would say it should take about an hour or two, so a few hundred dollars. The problem you may run into is that many lawyers look at this as not worth the risk. You can certainly call around and find an attorney that may help you. I’ll send you an email with a name or two.

      Best of luck.

      Jason

  5. Do you have to have at least one lawyer involved? I’m curious if the papers couldn’t be drawn up without the aid of a lawyer and submitted to the judge…? The divorce lawyer I originally found wants a $2000 retainer fee. Should I proceed with a consultation or just begin the paperwork process on my own?

    1. Holly,

      Good question, the short answer is no you don’t need a lawyer to get divorced. You can try and fill the forms out yourself and if you don’t have kids or property it’s pretty easy. $2,000 is a reasonable retainer if you are going to have some conflict, if not tell your lawyer that it’s an “uncontested divorce”

      Here is an article that tells you a little more. http://104.244.124.23/~rokola5/mankatofamilylaw/2012/04/24/why-you-should-have-a-lawyer-during-your-divorce/

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