divorce_process

Attorney Joseph W, Gardner will serve as your counselor and advocate through each
step of your divorce from initial counsultation through the trial. Here is an overview of
the divorce process.

The filing of a Complaint for Divorce starts the legal process. In Ohio, the person
served with the Complaint for Divorce has 28 days to file an Answer. This generally
requires the assistance of an attorney to make certain that your legal rights are
protected. Within four to six weeks after the Complaint for Divorce is filed, the Court
usually will have a hearing to make temporary orders. If the parties cannot agree on
temporary orders, the court will decide where the children will reside during the divorce
proceedings, how much a party will pay the other party child support and/or spousal
support, and who will be responsible for paying certain bills while a divorce case is
pending. Although temporary orders are made early in the case and these orders can be
modified by the court, temporary orders are very important for two reasons:

It is not unusual for a divorce case to remain pending for up to one year during which
time both parties will be legally bound by the temporary orders, and

In some cases the court tends to make a final ruling which is similar to the temporary
orders the parties have been under while the case is pending. For this reason, it is very
important for the case to be exceptionally well prepared by the attorney prior to the
temporary orders hearing in order to achieve the most favorable outcome for the client.

Soon after the Complaint for Divorce is filed, the attorneys are obligated to engage in
Discovery. This is a legal term meaning exchange of information. Written questions,
called Interrogatories will frequently be sent to the other party along with a Request for
Production of Documents. It is also common for wage information, monetary and
credit account information, and other financial data to be obtained from employers,
banks, and other financial institutions in the early stage of the case.

Divorce is a complicated legal process. When a marriage is terminated by divorce, the
court must allocate parental rights and responsibilities (also known as determining
custody), make a child support order where appropriate, determine whether either party
should pay the other party spousal support (formerly known as alimony), and equitably
divide the parties’ assets and debts. After temporary orders are issued, the court will
schedule a pre-trial hearing. The purpose of the pretrial hearing is for the attorneys to
explain to the Judge what the case is about, where the parties agree and where they
disagree. At this point in the case, all financial information and any needed appraisals of
assets such as real estate should be completed. The Judge will attempt to assist the
parties in reaching a settlement. If no settlement can be reached, a trial will be
scheduled at a future date and the attorneys will attempt to reach a fair settlement while
continuing to present evidence for the Court to decide contested issues at the final trial.

On the day of the divorce trial all witnesses must be prepared to testify and all
documents ready to be presented to the court. It is not unusual for the court to ask the
attorneys to take some time and determine if a settlement can be reached, even at this
late stage of the case. If no agreement is reached, each party will present their case.
This can take anywhere from several hours to several days or more, depending on the
nature and complexity of the issues within the divorce or custody case. At the
conclusion of all the evidence, the court will usually take the case “under advisement,”
which means the judge will consider all the issues and write an opinion and judgment
entry to be sent to each party after the divorce trial is over.

Careful preparation, planning, and aggressive presentation are the most important
ingredients of any successful divorce or custody trial.