What is the process in a typical family law case?
In a divorce or paternity case, a “Petition” must be filed. With this Petition, an Application for Temporary Order is filed, that requests the Orders you want to be in effect while the case is pending. Many divorce or paternity cases can take a long time (even over a year) so the “Temporary Order” will establish rules and guidelines for the parents to abide by until the case is final. The Court hearing on the Temporary Order is usually three to four weeks after you have filed your Petition. After the Petition and Application for Temporary Order is filed, the other party must be served. At that point, the served party must respond to the Petition within twenty (20) days. After the Temporary Orders are issued, a trial date is set to finalize the case. The only way a case can be finalized is if (1) there is a trial and the Judge rules on the issues or (2) the parties reach an agreement as to all issues and you have a “settlement”.
