New Brunswick Divorce Timeline Estimator

A New Brunswick divorce requires a minimum 1-year separation period under the federal Divorce Act, section 8(2)(a). After that, an uncontested divorce takes 3 to 6 months to process through the Court of King's Bench, Family Division. Contested divorces typically take 12 to 24 months due to discovery, mediation, and trial scheduling. The total timeline ranges from approximately 15 months (uncontested) to 3 years (contested).

New Brunswick follows the federal Divorce Act's mandatory 1-year separation period before a no-fault divorce can be granted. You can file your application as soon as you separate, but the court will not finalize the divorce until 12 months of separation have passed. After the Divorce Judgment is issued, there is an additional 31-day appeal period before the divorce becomes official and you can obtain your Certificate of Divorce.

Under the federal Divorce Act, section 8(2)(a), New Brunswick spouses must live separate and apart for at least 1 year before a divorce is granted. Separation does not require living in separate homes — New Brunswick courts recognize separation under one roof if spouses are living independent lives. Couples may also attempt reconciliation for up to 90 days without restarting the clock on the separation period.

An uncontested divorce in New Brunswick takes approximately 3 to 6 months after the 1-year separation is complete. Key steps include filing the petition (2–3 weeks for a court file number), serving the respondent (20 days to respond within New Brunswick), obtaining the Clearance Certificate from Ottawa (2–3 months), and the 31-day appeal period. The median cost for an uncontested New Brunswick divorce is $1,650.

The fastest divorce path in New Brunswick is a joint petition (Form 72B) after the 1-year separation period, which eliminates service and response time. Filing costs $110 at the Court of King's Bench. The main bottleneck is the Clearance Certificate from Ottawa's Central Divorce Registry, which takes 2 to 3 months. If both spouses agree on all issues, a joint uncontested divorce can be finalized in as few as 3 months after the separation year ends.

In New Brunswick, a respondent served with divorce papers within the province has 20 days to file a response with the Court of King's Bench, Family Division. If served elsewhere in Canada, the response period extends to 30 days, and 60 days if served outside Canada. If the respondent does not respond within the deadline, the petitioner may proceed with an uncontested divorce by default, provided proof of service is filed.

New Brunswick requires parents involved in Family Division proceedings to complete the Parent Information Program (PIP), a free self-guided online course. PIP includes a 1-hour parent information video, a 20-minute family law video, and a multiple-choice quiz — approximately 2 hours total. The program focuses on minimizing children's exposure to parental conflict and explains parenting arrangements and decision-making responsibility under the 2021 Divorce Act amendments.

A contested divorce in New Brunswick typically takes 12 to 24 months or longer after the 1-year separation period, depending on case complexity and court scheduling. The median cost rises to $16,500 compared to $1,650 for uncontested cases, with New Brunswick attorneys billing a median rate of $350 per hour. Discovery, court-ordered evaluations, and trial scheduling at the Family Division of the Court of King's Bench all extend the timeline significantly.