I am in the middle of a custody battle with my ex, how long will this all take?

A family law case can take anywhere from a few weeks to many years to come to an end. Even when a family law case ends, it ends many times only to be restarted the next day, week, month or year, when a party does not seem to be following an order or a material change in circumstances arises. Family law cases can be exceptionally draining in that they are highly emotional, lengthy, hostile, gut-wrenching and expensive. Avi Baratz always encourages settlement and resolution in family law cases in order to create order and alleviate these draining aspects as quick as possible. Some family cases are more complex than others which contribute to the length of time; others are more litigious and high conflict. The age of the child(ren) at the time of the commencement of the dispute also contributes to the length in time of the family law case – those cases with very young children can drag on for years until the child(ren) becomes of age. Even in cases that settle quickly, it’s usually impossible to know whether a party will raise a new issue or bring the matter back to court. In effect, one can never be sure if they are at the “end” when one finds themselves tangled up in a family law dispute. In our counsel’s experience however, many cases do “end” in that the parties have both come to terms with their separation and have settled their affairs in an orderly fashion.