Contested Divorce Hearing
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Highlights of Contested Divorce Hearing
- This hearing is referred to as a Permanent or Final Orders Hearing
- It is scheduled on the judge's docket for a particular span of time
- Some days prior to the hearing (say 10 days), the spouses seeking divorce have to submit a document named as "Trial Management Certificate" to the judge. This is also called as a "Position Statement." After reading this document, the judge can understand the respective positions of the spouses regarding the various issues. The spouses also have to mention what they wish to request the judge to do at this hearing
- During this hearing, the spouses are free to present documents or introduce evidences or call witnesses with the intention of endorsing their respective positions
- The spouses have to rely on the rulings of the judge. The judge has the discretion to issue those orders that the judge trusts are fair
- If an abuse of discretion by a judge is absent during this hearing, then the rulings of the judge cannot be overturned by an appellate court
- The spouses have a lot at stake depending on the outcome of this hearing
Motion for a Contested Divorce Hearing
The following steps must be followed to write a motion.
- The clerk in the office in the court can provide standard forms or samples of the most common varieties of motions in a divorce
- This office can also supply guidelines that indicate how to file and pursue motions in that specific court
- Now, the spouse must decide which particular issues to be resolved must be brought to the notice of the judge. Some examples of issues are those related to children or finances
- Now, the question is that whether the spouse must prepare a combined motion that addresses all issues or one motion for each issue?
- In a majority of jurisdictions, it is not permitted to file a combined motion
- Instead, for each issue that needs court action, the spouse must submit a separate motion. For example, there may be one motion for handling non payment of temporary child support and another motion for enforcement of temporary parenting time
- The motion must comprise of all the facts that endorse the spouse's arguments. It is a good method to present these facts as a list
- Let us consider a motion for child support enforcement. Then, the spouse must enlist accurately how and why the other partner is not obeying the standing orders of the court
- If the spouse desires something from the court, he/she should make a demand directly in the motion
- For example, let us assume that one partner is not complying with a temporary visitation order. Then, the spouse filing the motion must request the judge that the provisions of the initial order may be enforced and if the partner does not comply in the future, this partner may be reprimanded
- The spouse must file the motion with the court clerk
- This court clerk will inform the spouse about the date and time of the hearing
- Another method is that the administrative assistant of the judge provides information about the schedule of the hearing
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