Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

By Kevin Mammola

Divorce Lawyer, Cordell & Cordell

The length of time a divorce case takes to reach resolution is entirely dependent on the facts and circumstances in that case.

Uncontested cases – cases in which there are absolutely no disagreements as to any issues in the divorce – can be resolved rather quickly. But contested cases involving child custody agreements can take much longer to resolve, sometimes as long as a few years.

In my experience, contested custody matters can often take some time to reach the judge's trial calendar so it is not uncommon for those actions to take one to two years to reach a final conclusion.

There are many factors which could result in a delay of the court hearing the case. 

Actor Dennis Hopper recently filed for divorce from his fifth wife, according to news reports. What makes this different from your run-of-the-mill Hollywood divorce is Hopper is terminally ill with prostate cancer and is believed to be seeking a divorce from his deathbed to protect his assets.

According to reports, Hopper filed for divorce to keep his wife, Victoria Duffy, from contesting his will, which leaves her only 25% of his estate. 

"Mr. Hopper is free to will his individual assets as he wishes," Cordell & Cordell, P.C., attorney Erica Christian said. "However, the question is what are his individual assets and what are his marital assets.  He cannot will her interests in property to another person. This is something that would probably have been litigated after his death if Ms. Duffy alleged assets defined in the will were marital assets."

Read on for a Q&A with Christian about Hopper’s decision, marital property, and his rights.