Overview of the Divorce Legal System: Even though the relationship between you and your spouse has changed and you may no longer be living together, until you are legally divorced, you are still married.
Contested vs. Uncontested Divorce: There are two kinds of divorces - contested and uncontested. A contested divorce is one in which the parties cannot agree, either about getting divorced or about the terms of the divorce, such as the division of assets, allocation of debts, alimony, child support, or the custody of children.
Trial Preparation and Discovery for Divorce: In a contested case, after one spouse files for divorce, the often torturous, and tedious process of discovery begins. Each side sends the other lengthy lists of questions called interrogatories, which have been drafted by the lawyers and which must be answered under oath.
Expert Witnesses in Divorce Cases: Part of preparing for trial is locating expert witnesses. An expert witness is someone who is allowed to express a professional opinion at the trial.
Divorce Hearings and Trial: Once the discovery process is complete, each lawyer will use legal precedent to construct an argument about what his or her client is entitled to. Then a trial will take place, during which the lawyers will present the judge, master, referee, or other person hearing the case with information favorable to their argument.
Appealing a Divorce Case: After the trial, if you, your spouse, or both of you are not happy with the result, either or both of you may appeal. The purpose of an appeal is to determine whether the trial judge made a legal error such as misinterpreting the law or allowing into evidence testimony that should not have been admitted.
Divorce Mediation and Marriage Counseling: In some jurisdictions, before the trial preparation or discovery process can even begin, the law requires that both parties participate in counseling or attempt to resolve their differences with a trained mediator.
Family Court Masters or Magistrates: In many jurisdictions, in addition to the trial and the alternative dispute mechanisms described above, there is another layer of the judicial system known as masters or magistrates. These people are "junior judges" whose job it is to hear the evidence and make "proposed findings," or recommendations, to a judge.
Judicial Indifference in Divorce: Omnipresent in the arena of divorce and custody is the notion that it takes two people to have an argument and that at any time one person can stop the conflict by giving the other person what he or she wants. Many times, judges allow themselves to be seduced by this simplistic concept.
Divorce Settlement : Once the litigation has begun, most spouses begin to figure out that if they could reach agreement, they would save themselves a great deal of money and aggravation. They understand, on some level, that they should settle the case instead of fighting it out in court.
Dismissing a Divorce Case: Sometimes couples planning to divorce reconcile after filing the action but before the court moves on it. The couple can, if they agree, cancel the divorce by asking the court to dismiss the divorce after the papers have been filed.