In an uncontested divorce, the spouses agree on matters involving child custody and child support, alimony, and property and liability division. That means less time with lawyers, less money spent on court fees, and shorter lingering heartbreak. In this scenario, it’s reasonable to expect that you and your spouse can finalize your split at the soonest possible time.
Others, such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, aren't so lucky. In fact, having about a dozen children really takes a toll on the entire process.
But that’s just one of the reasons why a divorce takes so long. Here are three more celebrity ex-spouses and the reasons for their loooong divorces.
Bennifer II’s child custody (and sobriety) issues
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck split amicably, which should have brought the split to a swift conclusion. But that wasn’t the case. Theirs is just one of many examples of an amicable split that’s inexplicably drawn-out.
The Afflecks announced their separation in June 2015, but only filed the paperwork a year after. At present, their divorce still hasn’t been finalized and is even in danger of getting dismissed due to lack of progress.
To be fair, Jen only filed for divorce in April 2017 so anyone who has kept tabs would know that the divorce has only been ongoing for a little over a year. The underlying reason for the delay is Jen’s concerns about Ben’s sobriety issues. Since they’ve agreed on joint custody of their three children, she wants to make sure he is clean and sober before their divorce is finalized.
Khloe Kardashian & Lamar Odom getting held up by busy divorce courts
In December 2013, the second most popular Kardashian, Khloe, filed for divorce from her then-husband Lamar Odom because of his drug and infidelity issues.
Suffice to say, there were problems in Khloe and Lamar’s union as well as in their divorce’s paperwork. It actually took 18 months before Lamar signed the papers.
As soon as they were ready to move forward, the Los Angeles courts got busy, causing further delays. Lamar then got into a near-fatal OD incident in Las Vegas, which prompted them to call off the divorce. At the time, a reconciliation seemed imminent.
Unfortunately for Khloe, Lamar’s old habits never died, so she filed for divorce again in 2016, resulting in a three-year divorce.
But that’s still three years shorter than this next couple’s separation...
Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver’s dispute over dividing their millions
In 2011, Arnold’s wife of 25 years Maria Shriver filed for divorce after finding out he fathered a child with their housekeeper. At present, the divorce still hasn’t been finalized because they still haven’t agreed on how to split their $400 million fortune.
$400 million is indeed a lot of money, but seven years is way too long to finalize the division of a couple’s millions. Having represented many divorce clients in Seattle has not turned us into complete pessimists, so we’re guessing that the delays may have something to do with the fact that the two spent 25 long years as husband and wife.
It's worth noting that in many states (including Washington), the length of marriage affects the distribution of property between spouses.
What’s also not unusual is when one spouse deliberately delays the process in hopes of a reconciliation. We may never know what’s keeping Arnold and Maria, but what we do know is that there are reportedly no custody issues and they seem to be getting along really well post-breakup.
While there’s no shortcut to getting divorced, it doesn’t have to be dragged out. Call Seattle family lawyers Buckingham, LaGrandeur & Williams and we’ll make sure yours is quick and painless.